Hornets Announce Coaching Staff
The Hornets have finalized the coaching staff under Steve Clifford, who is returning as the team’s head coach after a four-year absence.
Tyrone Corbin will be Clifford’s lead assistant, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Corbin, 59, has 16 years of coaching experience and spent three years on Clifford’s staff in Orlando. He has been a head coach with both the Jazz and Kings, compiling a career record of 119-167.
Also new to the staff in Charlotte will be Bob Beyer, Rex Walters, Bruce Kreutzer and Brian O’Connor.
Beyer was an assistant to Clifford during his first stint with the Hornets and most recently worked for the Pelicans. Walters is a former college and G League head coach who spent time as an assistant with the Pistons and Pelicans. Kreutzer served on Clifford’s staffs in both Charlotte and Orlando and has been a shooting consultant with the Sixers. O’Connor spent the past five seasons as an assistant at Georgetown and served as an intern with the Hornets five years ago.
Jay Hernandez, Nick Friedman, Norman Richardson and Marlon Garnett will be retained from James Borrego‘s staff last season.
Bucks Hiring DeMarre Carroll As Assistant Coach
Veteran NBA forward DeMarre Carroll is transitioning to coaching, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who reports that Carroll will join Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Milwaukee.
The Bucks have yet to formally announce Carroll’s hiring, so it’s unclear whether he’ll be on the front of the team’s bench or if he’ll start with a more modest player development role. However, Carroll’s agency Priority Sports posted a tweet congratulating him for becoming an assistant coach, which suggests that will be his title.
The 27th overall pick in 2009 out of Missouri, Carroll spent the next 11 seasons in the NBA, appearing in a total of 578 regular season games and 64 playoff contests for the Grizzlies, Rockets, Nuggets, Jazz, Hawks, Raptors, Nets, and Spurs.
Now 36 years old, Carroll last played in the NBA during the 2019/20 season, when he appeared in 24 total games for San Antonio and Houston. The 6’6″ forward has career averages of 8.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .430/.358/.741 shooting in 23.7 minutes per contest.
Two of Carroll’s best seasons came from 2013-15, when he was a full-time starter for a Hawks team coached by Budenholzer. During Carroll’s two years in Atlanta, the club earned a pair of playoff berths and won 60 regular season games in 2014/15, making the Eastern Conference Finals that spring.
Carroll published a tweet referring to Budenholzer as a mentor and thanking him and the Bucks for the new opportunity. “Excited to be shadowing one of the best coaches in the league!” Carroll wrote.
Poll: Early 2023 Rookie Of The Year Predictions
When Scottie Barnes was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year for the 2021/22 season, it was the 17th time in the last 19 years that a top-six pick won the award.
The only outliers during that time were Michael Carter-Williams, who was the 11th pick in 2013 and beat out an uninspiring crop of rookies that included No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett; and Malcolm Brogdon, a 2016 second-rounder who won the award in a year in which the No. 1 pick (Ben Simmons) sat out with an injury.
Going back even further, only three other players drafted outside the top six since 1975 have earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors: Amar’e Stoudemire (No. 9) in 2003, Damon Stoudamire (No. 7) in 1996, and Mark Jackson (No. 18) in 1988.
In other words, it should come as no real surprise that the major betting favorites to win the award in 2023 are all top-six picks.
[RELATED: 2022 NBA Draft Results]
According to BetOnline.ag, Magic forward Paolo Banchero, this year’s No. 1 pick, is the current frontrunner (+250), which makes sense — Orlando is expected to finish in the lottery again this season and there aren’t many veterans on the depth chart standing in the way of Banchero earning a significant role from day one.
Thunder big man Chet Holmgren (+400) and Kings forward Keegan Murray (+400) are the next-best bets, per BetOnline. Holmgren and Murray were among the top two-way players in the 2022 draft class, which could help their respective Rookie of the Year cases. As Barnes’ win earlier this year showed, voters have become more inclined to weigh a player’s defensive contributions than they once were — it’s not just about which rookie averages the most points per game.
Rockets forward Jabari Smith (+800), Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (+800), and Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (+1000) round out the top six. After that group, Rockets forward Tari Eason, the No. 17 pick in the draft, has the next-best odds at +2000.
All three of Smith, Ivey, and Mathurin are in position to play major roles on rebuilding clubs, though guards like Ivey and Mathurin sometimes require some time to get their feet under them and learn how to score efficiently at the NBA level — slow starts from Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green last season cost them a chance at Rookie of the Year honors, despite strong finishes.
We want to know what you think. Which player is your early pick for Rookie of the Year in 2022/23? Are you taking a top-six selection, or is there a dark horse you believe can defy the historical odds and take home the award?
Vote in our poll below, then head to the comment section to weigh in with your two cents!
Who is your early pick for Rookie of the Year?
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Paolo Banchero 28% (353)
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Keegan Murray 21% (263)
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Chet Holmgren 16% (205)
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Jaden Ivey 13% (167)
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Someone else 9% (112)
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Jabari Smith 7% (93)
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Bennedict Mathurin 5% (67)
Total votes: 1,260
Kerr, Draymond Convinced JaMychal Green To Join Warriors
New Warriors forward JaMychal Green said during his introductory press conference on Monday that he had been preparing to join another NBA team before he received a call from Golden State head coach Steve Kerr that made him change his mind, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN details.
“He told me that (the Warriors) were interested, that they wanted me here, wanted me to be a part of the program,” Green said. “After talking to him, I couldn’t tell him no. The organization and what they built over here, I’d love to be a part of it.”
Following his conversation with Kerr, Green placed a call to Draymond Green, whom he has known since the eighth grade through AAU basketball. As Andrews writes, that phone call helped solidify JaMychal’s decision.
“He was just excited,” JaMychal said. “We both know what we bring to the table, and we just had a good conversation about everything and he made it easy for me to come here.”
JaMychal Green, who spent last season in Denver, was traded to Oklahoma City in June and was subsequently bought out of his expiring contract by the Thunder. He’s joining a Warriors team that lost a pair of key reserve forwards – Otto Porter and Nemanja Bjelica – in free agency, and sees himself as someone who can help fill the hole those departures created, as a complementary piece to the team’s stars.
“Just come in and play hard,” Green said of the role he expects to play for his new team. “Be a dog. Do the dirty work — help Draymond out with the dirty work. Knock down shots and play defense. I feel like if you come here and handle your business, you set yourself up for life.”
Porter and Bjelica were two of the Warriors’ most reliable three-point shooters last season, making 37.0% and 36.2% of their three-point attempts, respectively. Green converted just 26.6% of his shots from beyond the arc last season for the Nuggets after entering the year with a 38.0% career rate — he said on Monday that he’s confident in his ability to bounce back, noting that a nagging wrist injury affected his effectiveness in ’21/22.
“Toward the end of the season I just stopped shooting, period,” Green said, according to Andrews. “It’s all about rest and confidence. As long as I get my reps in this summer, I’ll be good to go. I was just fighting through some things last year… it’s going to get up.”
More Reaction To Bill Russell’s Passing
How can the NBA celebrate the legacy of Bill Russell? By retiring his iconic No. 6 jersey league-wide, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times opines.
Russell passed away at the age of 88 over the weekend.
That would be an appropriate tribute to Russell, who like Jackie Robinson excelled in his sport while fighting against prejudice and bigotry. The league could let players who currently wear Russell’s number finish out their careers with that uniform, Woike adds, but otherwise the number should be retired as a show of respect for Russell’s contributions to the game and society.
Here’s more reaction to the passing of Russell:
- Another of the league’s all-time greats, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, reflected on his 60-year relationship with Russell in a Substack post, detailing why he considers Russell “my friend, my mentor, my role model.”
- The Athletic’s Steve Buckley explores Russell’s tumultuous relationship with the city of Boston and how he eventually softened his stance on returning to the city in his later years.
- Despite the fact that many of the Celtics’ championships with Russell came at the expense of the Lakers, he was beloved in the city of Los Angeles, as Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register details.
- Former Celtics player and executive Danny Ainge said many former Boston players often spoke of Russell’s impact on their lives, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. “I had an opportunity to sit and talk for hours with many Celtic legends over the years: John Havlicek, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Tommy Heinsohn, Jo Jo White, Red Auerbach and many others,” Ainge said. “Their stories would often lead to conversations about the great Bill Russell. The influence he had on those he was so close with is impressive, but the impact he had on so many people everywhere is legendary.”
- Statistical analysis of Russell’s career cannot possibly compute his impact on the games he played and championships he won, Santul Nerkar and Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight.com argue.
- With current players taking stances on social issues, Russell’s legacy of fighting injustice will continue to be felt for many more years, Logan Murdock of The Ringer notes.
Pistons Sign Rodney McGruder, Kevin Knox
The Pistons have re-signed swingman Rodney McGruder, per the NBA transactions log. The team has also officially signed free agent forward Kevin Knox.
McGruder received a one-year deal, James Edwards of The Athletic tweets, though the contractual terms are unclear. Detroit already had 15 players with guaranteed contracts on its roster before both signings, along with filling both of its two-way spots.
Knox reportedly received a two-year, $6MM deal. Detroit will have to clear roster space via a trade or eat some guaranteed money to get down to 15 by training camp — the most logical odd man out is Kemba Walker, who is still expected to be bought out by the Pistons, but if McGruder got a guaranteed contract, another move will be required.
McGruder, 31, has been on the Pistons’ roster for the last two seasons. He appeared in 51 games in 2021/22, including two starts, and averaged 5.4 PPG in 14.8 MPG. He’s a career 35.2% 3-point shooter but made 39.7% of his attempts last season.
Knox, the ninth pick of the 2018 draft, is a reclamation project. He had a productive first season with the Knicks but fell out of favor under coach Tom Thibodeau. He appeared in just 13 games with the Knicks last season before being dealt to Atlanta. In 17 games with the Hawks, Knox averaged just 6.5 MPG.
The Hawks did not tender a qualifying offer to Knox this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Central Notes: Turner, Murphy, Cavs, Hammon, Marsh
Pacers center Myles Turner has been the subject of many trade rumors, but for now he’s still in Indiana. Turner told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he’s got some things to prove next season as he enters a contract year.
“Whether that’s in [Pacers] training camp or whether that’s a training camp somewhere else, I’m going to go and be myself. And that’s all anybody, that’s all I can expect for myself,” Turner said. “It’s definitely a proving season for me. Just proving it to myself, what I’m capable of. “
Turner added that he’s “numb” to trade speculation at this point.
“This is my fifth offseason with trade rumors going on,” Turner said. “‘He’s going to land here; he’s going to do this. He going to do that.’ I am finally numb to it, in a sense.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- Pistons general manager Troy Weaver was initially interested in hiring Rob Murphy as the head coach of the G League’s Motor City Cruise, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards III. Murphy instead became that team’s GM as well as assistant GM with the Pistons. Murphy believes the NBA team is now set up for long-term success. “Our books are in order. We have young talent,” he said. “I think we’re set up for success over the next 15 years if this all continues to grow and pans out how we think it will.”
- The Cavaliers added depth via the draft and three free agent signings. They also signed star guard Darius Garland to an extension but there’s still two big items on the agenda, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic notes. Collin Sexton remains an unsigned restricted free agent and they must also decide whether to pursue an extension with Caris LeVert. Those two unresolved issues are intertwined, Russo adds.
- Becky Hammon, the former Spurs assistant and current head coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, said former Pacers assistant Tyler Marsh has been an “invaluable” addition to her staff, she told Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “He’s just another person who’s a rock-solid person, first and foremost,” Hammon said. “So it’s always nice to have those kind of people that you can fall back on as a coach. Because a lot of times you can feel exposed out there and those people that have your back, like Tyler and my other coaches, are something that’s really invaluable.”
Celtics Agree To Deal With Noah Vonleh
Free agent forward Noah Vonleh has agreed to a one-year deal with the Celtics, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
It’s apparently a training camp deal, as Wojnarowski adds that Vonleh will go to camp with the hopes of making the roster.
The 2014 lottery pick has bounced around the league. Vonleh began his career with Charlotte, then moved on to Portland, Chicago, New York, Minnesota and Denver. In his most recent NBA season, he saw action in four games with the Nets in 2020/21.
He has averaged 4.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 16.8 MPG, spanning 339 career games.
Vonleh played in China with the Shanghai Sharks during the 2021/22 season. The 26-year-old averaged 14.3 PPG and 9.1 RPG with Shanghai. The Guangdong Southern Tigers were reportedly interested in signing him, but he’ll take his chances first with Boston.
Southwest Notes: Brunson, Gelfand, Clarke, Johnson
The Knicks are under investigation by the league regarding potential tampering during their pursuit of free agent Jalen Brunson, but that probe wasn’t instigated by Brunson’s old team. According to Marc Stein’s sources, the Mavericks did not file an official complaint against the Knicks, as he reports in his latest Substack post. The Knicks made a series of salary-dumping moves prior to free agency, then snagged Brunson away from Dallas with a four-year, $104MM contract.
We have more Southwest Division news:
- In the same Substack article, Stein indicates that the Pelicans are making a hard push to hire Pistons analytics expert Sammy Gelfand. Gelfand and Pelicans coach Willie Green previously worked together with the Warriors.
- Brandon Clarke would be a logical choice to replace Jaren Jackson Jr. in the Grizzlies‘ lineup until Jackson is ready to return from foot surgery. However, that would create other issues, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal notes. Clarke didn’t play much with center Steven Adams last season due to the fact that both operate out of the paint. Coach Taylor Jenkins also liked having Clarke on the second unit due to his scoring ability.
- Keldon Johnson won’t rest on his laurels after signing a four-year, $80MM extension. The Spurs forward told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News that he held a little celebration with family and friends, then went back to work. “I was in the gym the next day,” he said. Johnson wants to live up to the contract. “It’s always been full-time basketball,” Johnson said. “I knew as long as I put in the time and the effort, the extension would come. … I’m in some of the best shape of my life, the strongest I have been in my life.”
Russell Westbrook Signs With Agent Jeff Schwartz
Russell Westbrook has selected one of the most prominent agents in professional sports as his new representative.
Westbrook has signed with Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Westbrook parted ways with Thad Foucher last month. Foucher, who had represented Westbrook since he entered the league in 2008, cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason.
Westbrook will be a free agent after next season. He opted in to the final year of his current contract at a $47MM price tag this summer. There remains endless speculation about whether he’ll play for the Lakers next season.
The Nets have been mentioned as a possible destination if they deal Kyrie Irving to the West Coast. The Jazz, Knicks and Pacers have also reportedly shown interest in picking up Westbrook’s contract with assets attached.
Schwartz has a long list of NBA clients, including two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, John Collins, Cade Cunningham, Tyler Herro, Brandon Ingram, Kevin Love, CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton, Jamal Murray and Ricky Rubio.