Pelicans Rumors: Williamson, Griffin, Coaches, Front Office
There hasn’t been much noise surrounding Zion Williamson since a June report suggested some of his family members want him out of New Orleans, but the 2021/22 season will be crucial for the Pelicans and their long-term relationship with the former No. 1 overall pick.
Williamson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension, and while no player has ever turned down a maximum-salary rookie scale extension, New Orleans will want to take a major step toward contention this season to reduce the risk of Zion becoming the first.
In a deep dive into the situation in New Orleans, Christian Clark of NOLA.com suggests Williamson grew frustrated back in the Pelicans back in his rookie season when they handled his return from a preseason knee injury with extreme caution, extending his recovery timeline and then having him play in short “bursts” when he returned. Williamson detested those “burst” limits, according to Clark, who says there was significant tension between the star forward and the team’ medical staff that season.
Additionally, while executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin tried to forge a bond with Williamson during his rookie season, Zion’s relationship with the head of the team’s front office had “begun to sour” by the end of the year, says Clark. The two men don’t communicate frequently now, Clark adds.
Here’s more from Clark’s report, which includes several interesting tidbits and is worth checking out in full:
- Griffin isn’t particularly popular among a segment of Pelicans employees, who referred to him in a group chat last year as “Griff Krause” while ‘The Last Dance’ was airing, according to Clark. The moniker was a reference to former Bulls GM Jerry Krause, whom the ESPN documentary portrayed as disliked by the team’s stars and head coach.
- Although many people in the Pelicans’ organization believed the team needed to replace head coach Alvin Gentry in 2020, some didn’t like the way the change was handled. According to Clark, Griffin blamed Gentry for the Pelicans’ poor start that season, telling one person, “I give Alvin all the answers to the test, and he still fails.”
- Tyronn Lue was believed to be the Pelicans’ top choice when they replaced Gentry, but Lue opted to join the Clippers. When Griffin pivoted to Stan Van Gundy, some people in the organization raised concerns that the fit would be awkward, Clark writes, but the Pelicans hired him anyway. The team dismissed Van Gundy this spring after just one season.
- While J.J. Redick‘s public criticism of the Pelicans’ front office earlier this year placed Griffin and his group under a microscope, Jrue Holiday praised the team for sending him to a contender after he quietly asked to be traded, and several prominent agents – including Mark Bartelstein – told Clark that their interactions with New Orleans’ head of basketball operations have been positive.
Jazz Sign Justin James To Two-Way Contract
The Jazz have filled their open two-way slot by signing free agent swingman Justin James to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
James, 24, spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest.
James’ contract with the Kings covered the 2021/22 season, but his salary for the coming year wasn’t guaranteed, giving the team the opportunity to waive him last month without being on the hook for any dead money.
In Utah, James will occupy the Jazz’s second two-way slot alongside Trent Forrest. With James under contract, the team is now carrying 18 players, including 13 on guaranteed deals and Miye Oni on a non-guaranteed contract. James, Forrest, and Exhibit 10 recipients MaCio Teague and Derrick Alston round out the current group. The Jazz have room for two more camp invitees if they so choose.
Bulls Exercise 2022/23 Options For Coby White, Patrick Williams
The Bulls have exercised a pair of rookie scale team options, locking in guard Coby White and forward Patrick Williams for the 2022/23 season, the team announced today in a press release.
While decisions on standard team options are typically due right before free agency begins, teams have to make their decisions on rookie scale team options a year in advance. By October 31, clubs must either exercise or decline third-year options for first-round picks from 2020 and fourth-year options for 2019’s first-rounders.
[RELATED: Decisions On 2022/23 Rookie Scale Team Options]
White was a starter for the Bulls this past season, but figures to come off the bench following the team’s acquisition of Lonzo Ball in free agency. The 21-year-old averaged 15.1 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 4.1 RPG on .416/.359/.901 shooting in 69 games (31.2 MPG) in 2020/21. His ’21/22 debut may be delayed, since he’s coming off left shoulder surgery.
Williams, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, was also a full-time starter last season as a 19-year-old rookie. His role for 2021/22 remains unclear, but the former Florida State standout looks like a key part of Chicago’s long-term plans. He put up 9.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG on .483/.391/.728 shooting in 71 games (27.9 MPG) last season.
White’s fourth-year option for 2022/23 is worth $7,413,955. He’ll now be extension-eligible during the 2022 offseason and would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2023 if he doesn’t sign a new deal next year. Williams’ third-year option for ’22/23 will pay him $7,775,400. The Bulls will have to decide on his fourth-year option for 2023/24 by October 31, 2022.
Wolves Part Ways With President Of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas
The Timberwolves are parting ways with president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, sources tell Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the news, issuing the following statement:
“Today, the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of.”
Rosas had only run the Timberwolves’ basketball operations department for two years, having been hired by the franchise in May of 2019 after a lengthy stint in the Rockets’ front office. He overhauled the roster after taking the reins — Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie are the only two holdover players from the previous regime.
While he has certainly been active, Rosas hasn’t necessarily taken the Timberwolves any closer to legitimate contention in the last two years. His major moves – including trading up for Jarrett Culver in the 2019 draft and sending Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick to Golden State for D’Angelo Russell – have been a mixed bag, at best. The club had a record of just 42-94 (.309) during Rosas’ tenure and isn’t viewed by professional oddsmakers as a probable playoff team for 2021/22.
Despite some questionable personnel decisions, the timing of Rosas’ dismissal is still surprising. Typically, a team replacing its head of basketball operations will do so at the end of the season, before the draft and free agency take place. The Wolves are making a change less than a week before training camp begins, after Rosas completed many of the team’s offseason roster moves – including trading for Patrick Beverley and re-signing Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin – in the last few weeks.
A tweet from star big man Karl-Anthony Towns likely summed up what many Wolves fans are feeling. Towns’ message simply reads, “Wtf…”
Of course, it’s worth noting that the Wolves are in the midst of an ownership change, with Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore buying the franchise from longtime owner Glen Taylor. New ownership groups often prefer to make their own front office hires rather than sticking with the incumbent executives.
However, Rodriguez and Lore don’t have majority control of the organization yet, having agreed to a succession plan that won’t see them fully take over until 2023. They’ll have a voice in major decisions over the next two years, but the statement announcing Rosas’ dismissal today was attributed to Taylor.
We should get more details soon on why the Wolves would make such a major change now and what their plan is to replace Rosas. For the time being, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggests (via Twitter) that Sixers GM Elton Brand is a name worth watching, since Rodriguez and Lore are believed to be high on Brand.
Speaking of Philadelphia, we’ll also be keeping a close eye on how this move affects Minnesota’s rumored pursuit in Ben Simmons. The Wolves have been viewed for much of the offseason as one of the teams most interested in Simmons — it’s unclear how Rosas’ departure may impact the club’s level of interest in the 76ers star.
Doc Rivers Says Sixers Want Ben Simmons Back
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers appeared on a pair of ESPN shows on Wednesday to address the Ben Simmons situation, expressing on both ‘Keyshawn, JWill, and Max’ and ‘First Take’ that he wants to see the 25-year-old return to Philadelphia for the coming season.
Simmons is reportedly adamantly opposed to the idea of reporting to training camp or playing another game for the 76ers, but Rivers said in his first ESPN appearance on Monday morning that he hopes he and the team can “change that thought.” He later explicitly stated during his First Take appearance that he’d “love” to see Simmons returns to the club, adding that the team hired a shooting coach to help him improve that aspect of his game.
“There’s been so many times this has happened (in sports) that hasn’t been reported…and the guy comes back,” Rivers said, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. “So listen, we’re going to go through it. We’re gonna always do what’s best for the team, but I can tell you up front, we would love to get Ben back, and if we can, we’re gonna try to do that. Ben has a long contract, so it’s in our hands and we want him back.”
Rivers confirmed reports that Simmons told team leaders – including Rivers, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, and club owner Josh Harris – in a meeting last month that he wanted to be traded. According to Rivers, it was a “good conversation” and Simmons provided reasons why he didn’t want to return, but the Sixers “obviously didn’t agree” with his arguments.
One of the most interesting aspect of Rivers’ media appearances today was his insistence that his comments about Simmons following Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals were misrepresented by the media. Asked at that time whether he believed Simmons could be the point guard for a championship team, Rivers replied, “I don’t know that question or the answer to that right now. You know, so I don’t know the answer to that.” Today, he attempted to reframe that response.
“My answer was, ‘I’m not answering any of that stuff right now, guys, I don’t even know how to answer that,'” Rivers told Stephen A. Smith on First Take. “… I was basically just saying, ‘I’m not answering that crap, those questions.’ It was being portrayed that I was out there saying, ‘I don’t think we can win with Ben,’ and I do. I told Ben that the next day. What really disappointed me was the next day I went on and said, ‘Guys, y’all knew exactly what I was talking about,’ and no one heard it. They just kept running their narrative.”
While Rivers insisted today on ESPN that Simmons and agent Rich Paul know what he meant, a report earlier this month suggested that Simmons’ camp wasn’t thrilled with Rivers’ comments, so it’s unclear if everyone is on the same page.
Assuming Rivers’ efforts to get Simmons to camp are unsuccessful, this situation will start to get especially interesting next week, when players are scheduled to report to training camps. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains in an Instagram video, the 76ers would likely be comfortable assessing Simmons a series of small fines if he misses media day (on Monday) and the team’s first few practices. After that though, the financial decisions become more complicated.
Simmons is owed 25% of his $33MM salary for 2021/22 on October 1, and Marks suggests that withholding that payment would be an option for the Sixers if they don’t expect to mend fences with Simmons and are willing to enter an arbitration battle. Suspending Simmons would be another option — in that scenario, he’d lose 1/145th of his salary (about $228K) per game for the first 20 games he misses, then 1/110th of his salary per game after that.
Cavaliers Sign Denzel Valentine To Two-Year Deal
SEPTEMBER 22: The Cavaliers have officially signed Valentine, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. As previously relayed, the contract is reportedly partially guaranteed in year one and non-guaranteed in year two.
SEPTEMBER 10: The Cavaliers are signing swingman Denzel Valentine to a two-year contract, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.
Valentine’s interest in Cleveland had previously been reported.
Valentine, 27, spent the first five years of his NBA career in Chicago. He had a promising 2017/18 season (10.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.2 APG, .386 3PT%), but missed all of the ’18/19 campaign due to an ankle injury and has provided inconsistent production since that point.
The news that Cleveland is bringing in Valentine coincides with the team deciding to waive Damyean Dotson. Valentine will compete for minutes at the shooting guard and small forward spots.
2021/22 NBA Over/Unders: Southeast Division
The 2021/22 NBA regular season will get underway in less than a month, so it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and to resume an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.
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.
In 2020/21, our voters went 17-13 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’21/22?
As a reminder, the NBA played a 72-game schedule in 2020/21, so a team that won 41 games last year finished with a 41-31 record. This year, a club that wins 41 games would be a .500 team (41-41). For added clarity, we’ve noted the record that each team would have to achieve to finish “over” its projected win total.
We’ll turn today to the Southeast division…
Miami Heat
- 2020/21 record: 40-32
- Over/under for 2021/22: 48.5 wins (49-33)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Heat win in 2021/22?
-
Under 48.5 54% (252)
-
Over 48.5 46% (218)
Total votes: 470
Atlanta Hawks
- 2020/21 record: 41-31
- Over/under for 2021/22: 47.5 wins (48-34)
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Delon Wright, Gorgui Dieng, Jalen Johnson
- Lost: Tony Snell, Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando, Brandon Goodwin
How many games will the Hawks win in 2021/22?
-
Over 47.5 62% (309)
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Under 47.5 38% (188)
Total votes: 497
Charlotte Hornets
- 2020/21 record: 33-39
- Over/under for 2021/22: 38.5 wins (39-43)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Hornets win in 2021/22?
-
Over 38.5 55% (247)
-
Under 38.5 45% (206)
Total votes: 453
Washington Wizards
- 2020/21 record: 34-38
- Over/under for 2021/22: 34.5 wins (35-47)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Wizards win in 2021/22?
-
Over 34.5 55% (260)
-
Under 34.5 45% (214)
Total votes: 474
Orlando Magic
- 2020/21 record: 21-51
- Over/under for 2021/22: 22.5 wins (23-59)
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Robin Lopez, E’Twaun Moore
- Lost: Otto Porter, James Ennis, Dwayne Bacon, Chasson Randle
How many games will the Magic win in 2021/22?
-
Under 22.5 54% (243)
-
Over 22.5 46% (209)
Total votes: 452
Previous voting results:
- Brooklyn Nets (55.5 wins): Over (63.2%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (51.5 wins): Under (70.0%)
- Boston Celtics (46.5 wins): Over (58.1%)
- New York Knicks (42.5 wins): Over (65.1%)
- Toronto Raptors (36.5 wins): Under (50.6%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (54.5 wins): Over (63.7%)
- Indiana Pacers (42.5 wins): Under (58.2%)
- Chicago Bulls (42.5 wins): Over (68.3%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (26.5 wins): Under (50.5%)
- Detroit Pistons (25.5 wins): Under (52.6%)
- Utah Jazz (52.5 wins): Over (61.7%)
- Denver Nuggets (48.5 wins): Over (69.3%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (44.5 wins): Over (53.0%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (34.5 wins): Under (57.1%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (23.5 wins): Under (65.0%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (52.5 wins): Over (58.2%)
- Phoenix Suns (51.5 wins): Over (58.6%)
- Golden State Warriors (48.5 wins): Over (50.3%)
- Los Angeles Clippers (43.5 wins): Over (51.2%)
- Sacramento Kings (36.5 wins): Under (66.0%)
Warriors’ Owner Suggests Trade For Simmons Unlikely
Multiple reports this offseason have suggested that Sixers star Ben Simmons would like to be traded to a West Coast team, but it doesn’t sound as if the Warriors are looking to pull the trigger on a deal for the three-time All-Star, as Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle writes.
Simmons spoke to Warriors owner Joe Lacob about the possibility of trading for Simmons, and while Lacob was careful not to mention the 25-year-old by name in an effort to avoid a tampering fine, there was no doubt about which player he was referring to when he discussed a certain “Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Philadelphia.” Lacob said Golden State will always explore avenues to upgrade the roster, but strongly hinted that a trade for Simmons is unlikely.
“In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing. He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know,” Lacob said. “He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond (Green). Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the play-making. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”
The Warriors were viewed as a top candidate to make a major trade earlier in the offseason, when they could dangle two 2021 lottery picks in advance of this year’s draft. Once they used those two picks to select Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, a blockbuster deal became less likely for the Dubs, who appear focused on developing their rookies and young center James Wiseman rather than packaging them for a star.
“I like our team,” general manager Bob Myers said, per Simmons. “And I envision that the team we have will be the team that heads into camp and will be the team that starts the season.”
If Golden State isn’t seriously in the running for Simmons, who remains adamant about holding out and forcing a deal, it will take one potential trade partner off the table for the Sixers. However, a number of other suitors have reportedly discussed Simmons with Philadelphia this offseason, including the Timberwolves, Raptors, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Kings, among others.
Hawks Sign Jahlil Okafor To Non-Guaranteed Contract
SEPTEMBER 22: The deal became official on Tuesday, per RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 16: Former No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor is signing with the Hawks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via twitter). The contract will be non-guaranteed.
In a follow-up tweet, Hawks beat reporter Chris Kirschner of The Athletic notes that Okafor and recently-signed Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who is also on a non-guaranteed deal, are the most likely candidates to claim the 15th and final spot on the team’s regular season roster.
The team currently has 14 players on guaranteed contracts and 19 players signed to its training camp roster, so Okafor will be their 20th man on the roster, with no corresponding moves necessary to add him.
It’s worth noting that the Hawks could have claimed Okafor off waivers when he was released by the Nets last week, but doing so would have meant taking on a guaranteed minimum contract for the upcoming season. Waiting until he cleared waivers gave them the opportunity to sign him to a non-guaranteed deal, granting the team more flexibility with their roster.
Okafor has bounced around the league in recent years and struggled to break Detroit’s big man rotation last season before being traded to Brooklyn in the offseason. However, he does hold career averages of 10.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in just 19.5 MPG, so he’s capable of packing an offensive punch when given the opportunity.
Quinn Cook Signs Non-Guaranteed Contract With Blazers
SEPTEMBER 22: Cook officially signed his contract with Portland on Tuesday, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 21: Two-time NBA champion Quinn Cook is signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Trail Blazers, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (twitter link).
Cook struggled to find a permanent home last season, playing in 16 games with the Lakers before being waived in February, then playing seven games with the Cavs on a couple of 10-day contracts.
It was reported yesterday that the Warriors were planning on working out Cook this week, but it appears he’ll no longer be an option for Golden State.
Known for his strong locker-room presence and shooting ability, the Washington, D.C. native holds a career slash line of .461/.408/.795 in 14.1 MPG.
Once they officially finalize their agreement with Cook, the Blazers will have 18 players on their training camp roster, with two spots remaining, including an open two-way contract.