Knicks, Julius Randle Plan To Discuss Extension In Offseason
The Knicks and standout forward Julius Randle plan to talk during the offseason to see if they can come to an agreement on a contract extension, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
As Windhorst writes, the fact that Randle’s $19.8MM salary for 2021/22 is only partially guaranteed for $4MM made him – coming into this season – a possible trade candidate or even an eventual release candidate. However, the 26-year-old’s performance in 2020/21 has changed the equation considerably.
In 65 games, Randle has averaged 24.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 5.9 RPG with a .461/.420/.809 shooting line in a league-high 37.3 minutes per contest. He earned his first All-Star nod and has led the Knicks to a top-four seed in the East with just six games left in the regular season.
Since Randle signed a three-year contract in July of 2019, he’ll become eligible for a veteran extension this summer, two years after his initial signing date. A new deal could tack on up to four extra years, beginning in 2022/23, though the starting salary would be limited to 120% of his ’21/22 cap figure. A “maximum” four-year extension for Randle would have a base value of $106.44MM.
As Windhorst notes, that would be a nice payday for Randle, but it’s significantly less than his maximum salary as a free agent — he might be in line for an even more lucrative contract in 2022’s free agent period if he has another All-Star caliber season next year.
A shorter-term extension for Randle that gives him some additional financial security while still putting him on track to reach the open market during his prime years would also be an option for the two sides, Windhorst notes.
Sources tell ESPN that extension talks between Randle and the Knicks this summer may ultimately come down to how badly the former lottery pick wants to remain in New York. Right now, Windhorst says, that desire is strong.
Injury Notes: Ingram, Vucevic, LeBron, Magic
An MRI has revealed that Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram suffered a left low-ankle sprain during the team’s 108-103 victory over the Warriors on Tuesday, the team has announced via Twitter. Ingram is set to miss Friday night’s contest against the Sixers and is considered day-to-day with the injury beyond that.
Losing Ingram, the club’s second-leading scorer behind All-Star forward Zion Williamson, could be a major blow for New Orleans as the team strives to qualify for the play-in tournament in a crowded Western Conference field. With a 30-36 record, the Pelicans currently sit just two games behind the Spurs for a shot at the play-in tournament in the West this season.
There’s more injury news from around the league:
- Bulls All-Star center Nikola Vučević (adductor) was able to fully participate in a team practice today, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Head coach Billy Donovan commented that the sharp-shooting big man, who has missed the club’s last two games, “looked fine.”
- Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James will miss at least the next two games and potentially more as he grapples with fresh, sharp pain in his sprained ankle, Dave McMenamin told Rachel Nichols and Richard Jefferson on ESPN’s The Jump (Twitter video link). A source informed McMenamin that James is “focusing on the big picture” right now. “Does ‘big picture’ mean two more games missed? I’m not so sure,” McMenamin said. “He is clearly prioritizing using every bit of time he can to… get back for the playoffs.”
- Magic head coach Steve Clifford has indicated that five injured players could miss the rest of the 2020/21 NBA season, tweets Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Point guard Michael Carter-Williams and power forward Chuma Okeke are both sidelined with ankle sprains. Wing James Ennis is unavailable with a sore calf. Injury-prone forward Otto Porter Jr., who has played in just 28 games this season for the Magic and Bulls, is struggling with foot pain. Swingman Terrence Ross has been felled by back spasms. “I don’t even know what the time frame [is],” Clifford conceded. “If you look at the schedule now, it’s seven games, I think it’d be 12 days, and I’m not sure even if any of those guys are that close, to be honest with you.”
California Notes: Bagley, Toscano-Anderson, Warriors, Lakers
The future remains murky for oft-injured Kings power forward Marvin Bagley III, a talented scorer who still needs to develop on defense, writes Jason Jones of The Athletic.
On Sunday, during his second game back after his latest injury, a left hand bone fracture that kept him sidelined for 22 contests, Bagley showed flashes of the potential that made him so highly coveted out of Duke, racking up 23 points and nine rebounds. The Kings selected Bagley with the No. 2 draft pick in 2018 ahead of future All-Stars Luka Doncic and Trae Young.
“Obviously nobody plans to get a hand caught in a jersey and break your hand, but you can’t control things like that,” Bagley said of his latest injury for the Kings. “What I could control was how I prepared to come back and things that I was doing to make sure I was ready when I did come back.”
Sacramento previously picked up Bagley’s $11.3MM player option for 2021/22. As Jones writes, while Bagley was rumored to be a potential trade candidate in March, the Kings couldn’t find a deal that would net them enough of a return to be worth pursuing.
There’s more out of California:
- Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has liked what he’s seen out of forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, writes Alex Espinoza of NBC Sports Bay Area. Currently inked to a two-way deal with Golden State, has fought his way into the Warriors’ rotation through his moxie and hustle, averaging 5.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG across 19.5 MPG. “We’ll see how it plays out,” Kerr said to reporters about a potential long-term deal with Toscano-Anderson after this season. “Juan is clearly a very effective NBA player. We’d like to have him here for a long time.”
- Though the Warriors have been waylaid by injuries that have impacted their roster depth, they currently have two roster spots empty in a calculated cost-saving decision. Anthony Slater of The Athletic wonders if the club’s choice warrants further scrutiny, considering that it still fighting for a play-in tournament spot during a standout year from All-Star point guard Stephen Curry.
- Lakers guard Alex Caruso has had to take on more play-making duties for Los Angeles with key ball-handlers LeBron James and Dennis Schroder both sidelined, as Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes.
Charlie Brown Jr. Inks Second 10-Day Deal With OKC
The Thunder have signed guard Charlie Brown Jr. to his second 10-day deal following the expiration of his first one on Tuesday night, the team announced in a press release.
Since first joining Oklahoma City late last month, Brown has logged time in three games, including one start, and is averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.0 SPG across 15.9 MPG.
Brown went undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2019, and signed with the Hawks as a two-way player for 2019/20. This season, he appeared in 13 games with the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, within the NBAGL’s “bubble” campus in Orlando. Brown averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.69 SPG across 30.0 MPG for Iowa.
Brown’s new deal will run through May 14. The Thunder will have to decide after that whether to sign him to a rest-of-season contract that covers the club’s final game on May 16.
League Fines Kyrie, Nets $35K Apiece
The NBA (Twitter link) has announced that it is fining both All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and his team, the Nets, for violating league rules surrounding postgame interview availability, due to Irving’s continuing resistance against partaking in media conversations after games.
Irving and Brooklyn have each been dinged to the tune of a $35K fine.
The 43-23 Nets have clinched a playoff berth and will finish the season as one of the top seeds in the East. Irving and fellow All-Stars Kevin Durant and James Harden have only appeared together for seven games thus far this season, due to a combination of injuries, COVID-19 protocols, and several personal absences on the part of Irving.
If healthy and engaged, the star-studded (and surprisingly deep) Nets appear to be one of the favorites to win the 2021 NBA title. But it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll get healthy at the right time.
New York Notes: Dinwiddie, Nets, Noel, Harper
Injured Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has been pushing all year to make it back from his ACL injury in time to contribute in the playoffs, but head coach Steve Nash isn’t counting on having Dinwiddie available in the postseason, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes.
“I don’t think so,” Nash said. “We haven’t seen him since the turn of the year almost. It’s very difficult to, one, expose him to full NBA playoff basketball with the type of injury he has. We want to look out for his long-term health, first and foremost. And second of all, adapting back to the team environment.”
Dinwiddie suffered a partial tear of his ACL in just the third game of the season on December 27. ACL injuries are typically season-enders, but the fact that Dinwiddie only sustained a partial tear and was able to go under the knife quickly created some hope that he wouldn’t have to wait until 2021/22 to return. While Nash didn’t rule out that possibility, he’s skeptical that the veteran guard will be part of Brooklyn’s playoff rotation.
“It seems like it’s probably very unlikely,” Nash said, per Lewis. “But who knows? Stranger things have happened.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- The Nets, who have lost their last three games, don’t view James Harden‘s eventual return as a cure-all, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Having seen Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving play together in just seven games this season, Brooklyn is still hoping there will be a chance to establish some continuity in the coming weeks, as Malika Andrews of ESPN details.
- Knicks center Nerlens Noel is expected to return for Wednesday’s game vs. Denver, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Noel was sidelined on Monday after spraining his left ankle on Sunday.
- Although the Knicks announced Jared Harper‘s new contract with the team on Monday as a second 10-day contract, Hoops Rumors has confirmed via a source that it was actually a two-way deal, as our JD Shaw first reported. That means no corresponding move will be necessary for New York to complete the signing of Luca Vildoza, since New York has an opening on its 15-man roster.
NBA’s Play-In Tournament Likely Here To Stay
While some high-profile players and team owners have griped about the NBA’s newly-introduced play-in tournament, the format is working “spectacularly well” and has virtually no downside, contends John Hollinger of The Athletic.
As Hollinger writes, the new wrinkle has generated excitement at more levels of the standings, with teams in the 4-6 range fighting to hold their positions and clubs in the 9-12 range trying to win games rather than pivoting to tanking. As a result, we’re getting more interesting late-season matchups, with fewer teams coasting into the postseason.
“I think it’s great,” one assistant coach told Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer. “It gives lesser and younger teams something to play for toward the end of the season. It makes teams not tank and helps younger teams grow and develop.”
The play-in tournament will see the No. 7 team host the No. 8 team, with the winner claiming the seventh seed in the conference. To determine the eighth seed, the loser of that game would play the winner of a game between the Nos. 9 and 10 teams.
As Uggetti points out, one counter-argument against the play-in format being implemented in 2020/21 specifically is that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on some teams’ seasons, affecting player availability and impacting players’ performances even after they return. A franchise hit hard during the season by COVID-19 may end up in the play-in tournament when it should have been a top-six seed. Additionally, a club affected by the virus during the next week or two could be missing key players as it tries to win a play-in game.
“The apocalypse option is what if a No. 6 seed or No. 7 seed gets hit with COVID?” a Western Conference general manager said to Uggetti. “And they have to play in the play-in, lose, and then they don’t make the playoffs?”
That would certainly be a worst-case scenario for the league, but it’s more of an argument against holding a season during a pandemic at all than an argument against the play-in tournament. A player who contracts the virus typically misses at least two or three weeks, so an entire playoff round could conceivably be affected by bad COVID-19 luck — not just one or two play-in games.
Other people around the league who are lukewarm on the play-in concept have suggested that the format devalues the regular season results and that play-in games should be conditional based on the standings. For instance, if the No. 8 seed has a substantial cushion on the No. 9 team, then perhaps a play-in shouldn’t be necessary.
“What if the No. 7 seed has a four-game lead on No. 8? And now it’s gonna almost be like Game 7 of the Finals, win or go home? It’s not really fair,” one Eastern Conference executive said to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. “Anything can happen. And someone can get hurt.”
There’s some validity to that complaint, but the NBA has long allowed more than half of its 30 teams to automatically qualify for the postseason, which is something of a devaluation of the regular season in its own right. For a club that finishes seventh in a conference of 15 teams in the regular season, perhaps a favorable path to a playoff spot is a more appropriate reward than an automatic playoff berth.
Concerns about subjecting strong No. 7 seeds to a play-in game may also overstate the potential volatility of the tournament. If a seventh-seeded team finished the regular season with a significantly better record than the other three clubs in the play-in tournament, there’s no reason that team shouldn’t be able to win at least one of two potential home games against those lesser opponents.
Hollinger touches on this point in his column, responding to critics who say the NBA would be shooting itself in the foot if a possible contender like the Lakers or Celtics has to participate in the play-in tournament and is eliminated before the playoffs even begin.
As Hollinger observes, if those teams can’t win one of two play-in games to clinch a playoff spot, it’s probably safe to assume they weren’t going to be legitimate contenders anyway. If the Lakers finish seventh, the likeliest outcome is that the NBA would get great TV ratings for the play-in tournament and L.A. would ultimately earn a playoff spot anyway, Hollinger adds.
Evan Wasch, who is the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball strategy and analytics and has become the spokesperson for issues relating to the play-in tournament, tells Uggetti that he values positive or negative feedback from teams and will take it into account as the league considers possible tweaks going forward. By the sounds of it though, the play-in format is probably here to stay.
“I’ve talked to the league at length about this, and it’s not going anywhere,” the aforementioned Western GM said to Uggetti. “They studied the European (soccer) models and they want to expand winning as much as they can to other markets and teams. There’s only one NBA champion, and this is a way for more teams to make it to the playoffs and for them to have the broader market appeal of winning something.”
Four New Positive COVID-19 Tests Among Players Since April 28
Of the 492 NBA players tested for COVID-19 since April 28, four players have registered new confirmed positive tests, the league and the players’ union announced today in a press release.
The NBA and NBPA don’t publicly disclose which specific players test positive for the coronavirus. However, Lakers guard Dennis Schröder and Hornets forward Miles Bridges have each entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols this week and were ruled out for 10-to-14 days, which is typically the projected timeline associated with a positive test. They may be two of the four affected players, though that’s not confirmed.
The NBA has been able to keep the virus relatively in check during the past couple months, having not had a game postponed due to COVID-19 since prior to the All-Star break in early March.
Still, it’s worth noting that this week’s four positive tests represent the highest weekly total among players since March 3. The league will hope to see that number trending downward next week, with the postseason around the corner.
Central Notes: Varejao, Cavaliers, Grant, Brimah
The Cavaliers recently signed veteran center Anderson Varejao to a 10-day contract, honoring the 38-year-old with a celebratory deal for his past stints.
Varejao, who played with Cleveland from 2004-16, was part of numerous playoff runs and appeared in 591 regular-season games with the team. He received a phone call from GM Koby Altman just last week, with Altman delivering some good news.
“He said, ‘Andy, let’s do this. We’re gonna bring you back,’” Varejao recalled, as relayed by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “It was a moment that I took to myself, like, ‘Wow, it’s really about to happen.’ It feels right.
“Cleveland is home for me. I love the city, I love the fans, I love the organization. I’m happy to be back. It’s not just the end of this season, it’s the 12 years that I’ve been here, that all counts to me. I was always ready to come back to be honest. I’m excited. It feels like I never left.”
There’s more from the Central Division today:
- In a separate story for Cleveland.com, Chris Fedor explores whether the Cavaliers can follow the Suns’ path in their rebuild. Phoenix holds the NBA’s best record at 47-18 after years of rebuilding, finally reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. The Suns defeated Cleveland 134-118 in overtime on Tuesday.
- Pistons forward Jerami Grant, who has been sidelined since April 26 with right knee soreness, is returning to the team’s lineup on Saturday, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports. Detroit will take on Philadelphia in a road contest that night.
- The Pacers‘ two-way contract with Amida Brimah is for two years, running through 2021/22, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports tweets. Brimah, a 27-year-old center, signed that deal to join the club last month.
Hawks Notes: McMillan, Young, Capela, Shooting
After starting the season with a 14-20 record, the Hawks have gone 22-10 since Nate McMillan took over as the team’s head coach. The role McMillan has played in turning around Atlanta’s season hasn’t been lost on leading scorer Trae Young, who appeared on Adrian Wojnarowski’s Woj Pod this week and praised the Hawks’ head coach for “connecting with the players.”
Asked about McMillan’s potential future with the team, Young said he’d be surprised if the interim coach isn’t retained beyond 2020/21.
“I couldn’t see a scenario where he’s not back with us,” Young said. “The way we’re winning right now. If we go into the playoffs and do really well, it’s hard to see him not back next year. At the end of the day it’s not up to me, but as a player, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be back.”
While Young is right that the decision won’t ultimately be up to him, Hawks management will likely take the All-Star guard’s opinion into account when they determine what’s next for McMillan, who looks like a pretty safe bet to have his interim label removed.
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- In an in-depth profile, Zach Lowe of ESPN examines the growth of Hawks center Clint Capela, who has gone from a rookie the Rockets initially viewed as a draft-and-stash prospect to the anchor of Atlanta’s defense and a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
- Within his story on Capela, Lowe cites sources who say the Hawks discussed the possibility of trading for Andre Drummond and Steven Adams before ultimately acquiring Capela from Houston a year ago. Atlanta believed that elements of Capela’s pick-and-roll game with James Harden would work for Trae Young, Lowe notes.
- After finishing dead-last in three-point percentage a year ago, the Hawks prioritized shooting in the offseason when they signed Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari to lucrative multiyear deals, and those moves have helped make the Hawks a playoff team, writes Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bogdanovic (42.0% on threes) and Gallinari (41.6%) have been two of the club’s most reliable marksmen in 2020/21.