Jalen Green Believes He Should Be No. 1 Draft Pick
Jalen Green doesn’t lack confidence when talking about his draft prospects. In an interview with Farbod Esnaashari of Bleacher Report, Green discusses his experiences with the G League Ignite, his decision to skip college basketball, and how he thinks he measures up against the rest of the 2021 draft class.
“I didn’t really start paying attention to it until after the (G League) bubble,” Green said. “I just felt like I should be No. 1 because I work harder than a lot of the dudes in my class. That’s the only reason. It’s not something that could have been or should have been; it’s just because I work harder.”
Green was a basketball pioneer along with Ignite teammates Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd, and Daishen Nix, who all sought an alternative to the traditional path to the NBA. They got to play alongside veterans such as Jarrett Jack and Bobby Brown while being coached by Brian Shaw.
During his time in the G League, Green was a dedicated student of game film. He paid particular attention to high-scoring guards Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine, whom he hopes to emulate, along with legends such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Green said Jack and Brown were especially helpful in offering tips about the pro game.
Green touches on several other subjects in the wide-ranging interview:
His advice to other high school stars who are considering the G League:
“I would say to, for sure, do it. If their goal is to get to the NBA and they’re one of the top kids in the country, I would say for sure. You’re going to pick up on things early, you’re going to be ahead of schedule, you’re just going to learn how to be an overall pro. This year was the first year (of the G League Ignite), so I’m sure the next years are going to get better and better.”
How the league prepared him for the NBA:
“I think it was overall a great experience. I learned a lot, I learned how to be a pro early. I was put in a pro setting. Improved my pro habits on and off the court. I feel I just got overall better. The young guys that were there got overall better too. It was just a great experience overall.”
What he learned by playing for Shaw:
“I think I learned a lot from B-Shaw. We were playing in the triangle offense, so that was an offense with a lot of vets put in. So that was cool learning that. I just got to pick his brain a lot about Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird and Shaq. We watched a lot of film. B-Shaw helped me a lot.”
The incentive that came with trying to be the top overall pick:
“For me, it’s like a motivation thing. Just because, at first I wasn’t even talked about going No. 1 because of the route I took. It was different, and I was off the map for a little bit. Even after the bubble, they still were talking about that. Just seeing that now is more motivation. I feel like that’s where I should have been. It’s a dream come true for sure; it does give me butterflies.”
Nets Notes: Irving, Supporting Cast, Green, Harris
Friday’s loss showed that the Nets need contributions from their entire Big Three to be effective, writes Steve Serby of The New York Post. Making his return to Boston, Kyrie Irving shot 6 for 17 from the field and handed out just two assists in 41 minutes as Brooklyn suffered its first playoff loss with the star-filled lineup.
Boston fans have been waiting a long time to vent their anger at Irving, who left in free agency in 2019 after indicating that he planned to sign a long-term deal with the Celtics. He expressed negative comments about his time in Boston to the media this week, so it’s possible he was distracted by the experience during Game 3.
“I don’t want to necessarily make any conclusions that it was because of all the other chatter and the fans and all that,” coach Steve Nash said. “That’s a question for Ky. We know how good he is, we know that he can handle that environment, and we know that he can play much better in Game 4.”
There’s more on the Nets:
- Brooklyn’s supporting cast also came up short in Game 3, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Kevin Durant, James Harden and Irving combined for 96 of the Nets’ 119 points, and the team had only 16 assists on 38 made shots. “I thought for big portions we got a little stagnant,” Nash said. “We got away from our movement. I thought James was scoring in isolation, Kevin was scoring in isolation, but I still think that we can be more difficult to guard in general if we move the ball and get to isolations as a second resort.”
- Some of the spacing issues were caused by the absence of Jeff Green, who may miss the rest of the series with a foot injury, states Chris Milholen of NetsDaily. With one less shooter on the court, the Celtics were more willing to double team Durant and throw traps at Irving.
- Joe Harris talks to Mike Mazzeo of Forbes about how he was able to resurrect his NBA career after being traded by the Cavaliers and waived by the Magic following season-ending foot surgery in 2016.
Heat Notes: Roster Decisions, Butler, Free Agency
After taking steps to maximize roster flexibility over the past 18 months, the Heat will likely need it as they try to rebuild in the wake of a first-round sweep, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider account). Jimmy Butler ($36MM), Bam Adebayo ($28.1MM), Tyler Herro ($4MM), Precious Achiuwa ($2.7MM), and KZ Okpala ($1.8MM) are the only players with guaranteed contracts for next season, but Miami can choose to operate above or below the cap depending on its other roster decisions.
The Heat have been prioritizing cap space for this summer, originally hoping to take advantage of a stellar free agent class that included Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George and LeBron James. That route has lost some luster with those players all agreeing to extensions, but Miami’s cap room will still be an asset.
The team could have about $21MM available, Marks notes, or $27MM if it doesn’t make qualifying offers to Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson, which would cut their cap holds from $4.7MM to $1.7MM each. However, Marks adds that the Heat would only consider that route if they’re assured that both players will re-sign after their cap space is exhausted. Miami would also have to decline team options on Andre Iguodala and Goran Dragic by the Aug. 1 deadline and renounce its rights to Trevor Ariza and Victor Oladipo.
The other choice is operating over the cap, which means keeping or trading some of the veterans, but it also risks cutting into potential cap space for 2022/23.
There’s more from Miami:
- The Heat are coming up on an important decision regarding Butler, who will be eligible for a four-year extension worth $181MM, Marks adds in the same story. Butler was outstanding during the regular season, but wasn’t as effective in the playoffs, and Miami will have to determine whether he’s worth that investment with his 32nd birthday coming up in September.
- There may not be a realistic Plan B for team president Pat Riley now that Antetokounmpo has committed to Milwaukee, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The two-time MVP dismantled Miami in the playoffs and showed why he would have been such a great addition. Winderman suggests the alternative is to hope Kawhi Leonard becomes available if the Clippers lose in the first round or to possibly make another run at Kyle Lowry.
- Butler said after today’s game that he will consider playing in the Olympics, but isn’t close to making a decision, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Butler won a gold medal at the 2016 Games.
Westbrook, Curry Cleared To Play Tonight
The Wizards will have Russell Westbrook in the lineup for tonight’s Game 3 against the Sixers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Philadelphia’s Seth Curry will also be active, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Westbrook was a game-time decision with a sprained right ankle that he suffered in Game 2. He didn’t practice on Friday, but he made enough progress with the injury that Washington’s medical staff cleared him for tonight.
Curry sprained his left ankle in Game 2 and missed practice as well on Friday, but received clearance just before game time.
Injury Notes: Davis, KCP, Paul, Doncic, R. Williams, Walker
Anthony Davis is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4 with Phoenix, but the Lakers star doesn’t see any question about his status, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“There’s no chance that I don’t play tomorrow,” Davis said after today’s practice. “As a player, I’ve wanted to be in this moment. You want to be in the playoffs and help contribute to my team’s success. I want to be out there. So in my eyes, for me as a competitor, I think I’ll be out there tomorrow.”
Davis suffered a hyperextended left knee after landing awkwardly on a chase-down block in Game 3. He was able to play 40 minutes in the victory, even though he was in pain for the rest of the night. Davis said he didn’t need an MRI, but there has been swelling in the knee and he’s been wearing a compression sleeve.
“I haven’t mentioned or talked about a brace,” he said. “But if that’s going to help, then I don’t mind going back to the 1970s brace.”
There’s more injury news to pass along:
- The Lakers are also listing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as questionable after he hurt his left knee and quad area in Thursday’s game, McMenamin adds. Coach Frank Vogel said he’s hopeful that both players will be available.
- Suns guard Chris Paul sat out today’s practice and is still experiencing pain in his left shoulder, tweets NBA writer Gina Mizell. Coach Monty Williams said the team’s medical staff told him Paul is “ready to play, and that’s all I can go off of.”
- The Mavericks are listing Luka Doncic as questionable for Sunday with a cervical strain, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic said he began feeling pain in his neck around halftime Friday night and it eventually spread down his left arm. “It’s just weird,” he said. “Just some massage, some ice and hopefully it will be good.”
- Celtics center Robert Williams has been downgraded to doubtful for Sunday, according to Brian Robb of MassLive. Williams had an awkward landing in the first quarter Friday night and didn’t return to the game after playing just six minutes. He has also been dealing with turf toe for the past month. “Rob’s doubtful,” coach Brad Stevens said after today’s practice. “He probably won’t do anything in the morning and see how he feels as we get closer to game time. But you saw him last night, even in his stint, I thought he looked pretty limited. We’re hopeful to have everybody available, but at least in Rob’s case I’d say that’s probably doubtful.”
- Celtics guard Kemba Walker is listed as questionable for the second straight game with a bone bruise in his knee, Robb adds. Walker played in Game 3, but shot just 3-of-14 from the field and had five turnovers. “Kemba was sore today,” Stevens said. “I think that he’ll go through stuff in the morning tomorrow and have a better idea on him.”
Community Shootaround: Top Restricted Free Agents
This year’s free agent class could have been filled with superstars. The pool of impact players has been drained, as many of them signed extensions.
There are still some intriguing names that will hit the market this summer and many of them will be restricted free agents. Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Hamidou Diallo, Gary Trent Jr., Josh Hart and Lauri Markkanen are some of the players who could receive offer sheets.
Three other names stand out on the list of RFAs – John Collins, Lonzo Ball and Jarrett Allen.
It’s rare that a highly productive young big like Collins would reach restricted free agency at this point in his career. Collins, 23, averaged 17.6 PPG and 7.4 RPG on a playoff team and he’s a career 38% shooter from deep.
Yet the Hawks seem lukewarm, at best, on Collins as a long-term partner for franchise player Trae Young. He reportedly turned down a $90MM extension offer, believing he could get a max deal, or something very close to it, in free agency.
Atlanta need only to extend a $7.7MM qualifying offer in order to make him a restricted free agent, giving the team the option of matching an offer sheet.
Collins has the opportunity to enhance his resume with a strong playoff showing. He contributed a ho-hum 12 points and seven rebounds to Atlanta’s Game 1 win on Sunday but counterpart Julius Randle shot just 6-for-23 from the field. Collins’ second postseason game was a disaster, as he went scoreless in 12, foul-filled minutes.
He contributed 14 points and six rebounds in Game 3 on Friday but, more importantly, helped to hold Randle to a 2-for-15 shooting night.
Ball’s qualifying offer is $14.36MM, so New Orleans has a tougher decision to make. Ball has long been rumored to be a primary target for the Bulls, who are seeking a natural point guard.
Ball’s name was bandied about in trade rumors this winter and it wouldn’t be a complete shock if the Pelicans choose to make him unrestricted. That would leave open the possibility of a sign-and-trade, rather than getting nothing if they decline to match an offer sheet.
However, it’s probably a safe assumption that Pelicans will extend the QO and see if Ball’s offers fall into their price range.
In contrast, the Cavaliers acquired Allen as part of the multi-team James Harden blockbuster with the intent of re-signing him. Allen, whose QO is $7.7MM, averaged 13.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG and 1.4 BPG after joining Cleveland.
Allen didn’t exactly turn around the Cavaliers’ fortunes but they seem committed to retaining the 23-year-old center. So if another team covets Allen, it will have to make a substantial offer to force the Cavs to think twice about matching.
That leads us to our question of the day: Among John Collins, Lonzo Ball and Jarrett Allen, which restricted free agent will receive the biggest offer this summer?
Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion on this topic. We look forward to your input.
And-Ones: Team USA, Eaton, Small Markets, Africa League, Mathiang
Players on teams that go deep into the postseason will still be under consideration for Team USA even though the Finals could end a day before the Olympics began, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports. Team USA will conduct a mini-camp as early as July 1 and a Game 7 of the Finals would be held on July 22. The Olympics begin the next day. National team director Jerry Colangelo said the roster will be reevaluated after each playoff round.
“It’s conceivable, there will be a few players who are competing in the Finals and want to participate and we want them to participate,” Colangelo said. “But we don’t know who that’s going to be. We have to wait and see. That’s why we’ll take inventory after each round. It’s possible that we don’t end up with 12 in Las Vegas and we bring a couple of guys at the last minute.”
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Mark Eaton, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, has died at the age of 64, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The 7’4” Eaton played 12 seasons with the Jazz from 1982-93.
- While it’s possible for small market franchises to reach the NBA Finals, there are obvious disadvantages for those clubs, especially in an era where superstars often choose where they want to play, Zillgitt writes in a separate story. Zillgitt outlines the difficulties facing those franchises.
- Raptors executive Masai Ujiri writes about the impact of the Basketball Africa League in a guest viewpoint article for The Athletic. He hopes the dreams of African players won’t just center around the opportunity to play in the NBA. “Maybe one of those young men will make the NBA. But let’s dream bigger: Maybe, a few years from now, that young man won’t have to leave Africa to play basketball at an elite level,” Ujiri writes.
- Former Hornets big man Mangok Mathiang has agreed to extend his contract with Cedevita Olimpija (Slovenia) until at least the end of the 2021/22 season, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Mathiang underwent surgery back in November to repair a fracture of his leg and tibia. Mathiang appeared in four Hornets games during the 2017/18 season.
New York Notes: Randle, Rose, Barrett, Harden, Griffin
After another poor shooting night, Julius Randle expressed confidence that he and the Knicks will turn things around in the first-round series against Atlanta, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Randle missed 13 of 15 field-goal attempts in Game 3 on Friday.
“We just got to adjust, just got to adjust and we will,’’ he said. “It’s on me. I just got to find a way to read the outlets quicker.’’
Impending free agent Derrick Rose was the main source of offense after being inserted into the lineup in place of slumping Elfrid Payton. Rose believes the team has been frustrated by its lack of offensive execution.
“When we’re not making shots, we still have to play with that sense of urgency,’’ Rose said.
We have more on the New York teams:
- RJ Barrett has also been in an offensive funk in the series, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post notes. The Knicks shooting guard is averaging 11.3 PPG and shooting 32.6% from the field during the series. “I’m getting a lot of wide-open shots,” he said. “I need to make them.”
- James Harden saw a silver lining in the Nets’ Game 3 loss to Boston on Friday, according to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Harden believes the team had been lulled into a false sense of security after winning the first two games at home. “This probably was good for us,” Harden said. “Especially after our last game when we played so well. This was a good reminder for us that things aren’t going to be so easy.”
- The Nets slowly worked Blake Griffin into their mix after signing him this season and general manager Sean Marks said the team has been pleasantly surprised how much he has left in the tank, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne writes. “We knew what we were getting in terms of veteran and high-IQ player,” Marks said. “So it was about being able to maximize what he’s got left, career-wise. And from the first day we got him, we could see, ‘OK, there’s some more there.'” With the superstars carrying the team in the playoffs, Griffin is averaging a modest 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 3.0 APG in the first-round series against Boston.
Los Angeles Notes: George, Leonard, Zubac, Beverley, KCP, Vaccine
The Clippers averted a three-game deficit by defeating the Mavericks 118-108 in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Friday. Paul George says the Clippers’ victory is meaningless unless they build on that victory, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “We’ve yet to show anything. We’re down 2-1,” George said. “We’re not the favorites, we’re not the defending champs. We haven’t showed anything. We’ve got to continue doing it.”
We have more on the Los Angeles teams:
- George and Kawhi Leonard took a lot of heat after the Clippers dropped the first two games of the series at home but they combined for 65 points in Game 3. Teammate Marcus Morris defended the superstar forward duo afterward, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. “Those guys are killers,” Morris said. “No matter what’s being said in the media and what’s being said in the outside world, them guys come in and work their (butts) off every single game.”
- Ivica Zubac only played 11 minutes in Game 3 even though Serge Ibaka was sidelined by a back injury. Patrick Beverley only saw six minutes of action with Reggie Jackson moving into the starting lineup. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said Zubac and Beverley handled their reduced roles in a “professional manner,” Medina tweets.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope underwent an MRI on his bruised left quad Friday and the results were promising, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. The MRI revealed no tear. The Lakers guard will see how he responds to rest and treatment on Saturday in order to determine his status for Game 4 against Phoenix on Sunday.
- The Lakers reached the vaccine threshold earlier this week, which allowed them to utilize their film room for the first time this season on Wednesday. They also didn’t have to wear face masks, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “You don’t realize how important and productive it is to have film sessions in an intimate setting until you lose it,” a Lakers player told Haynes.
Nuggets Notes: Rivers, Murray, N’Dong, Fall
Austin Rivers delivered a 21-point performance for the Nuggets while playing 37 minutes in Game 3 against Portland. Rivers, who was an afterthought with the Knicks and got waived by the Thunder after New York traded him, has been a perfect fit with the Nuggets, head coach Michael Malone told Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
“Austin needed a team and we needed a player,” Malone said. “We were decimated by injuries. Austin was out there, he was available. … The timing, the need of it, was perfect on both ends.”
Rivers signed a rest-of-the-season deal after an audition on a 10-day contract.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- Rivers is hopeful the Nuggets will re-sign him when he becomes a free agent again this summer, Singer tweets. The goal’s to be here long-term,” he said. “It’s just been a natural fit. I can’t speak for them, I know it’s a business … I love this team, that’s all I can say.”
- Jamal Murray may be out for the season with a torn ACL but he’s still a major presence on the team’s bench, serving as a de facto coach, Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post notes. “His energy, his presence and his positivity are really impactful,” Malone said. “Monte (Morris) is still a really young player in terms of NBA experience. But Facu (Campazzo) is a rookie. Markus Howard is a rookie. Shaq Harrison has played in the NBA, but these are his first playoff games. … A guy like Jamal who has 33 games of playoff experience at a high level, he can also be impactful in terms of helping those guys with what they’re facing on the court.”
- Nuggets player development coach Boniface N’Dong and front office associate Dethie Fall, natives of Senegal, believe the new Basketball Africa League will have a major impact on African players and the NBA, Alex Labidou of the team’s website writes. “Africa has a lot of talent,” said N’Dong, who is also the head coach of the Senegal national team. “Africa is pretty big, there are 52 countries. I think you’re going to see a lot of [Pascal] Siakams, a lot of [Joel] Embiids, and a lot of Gorgui Diengs coming out of nowhere.”