And-Ones: Korkmaz, Turkey, Popovich, France, Team USA
Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz was attacked in the hallway of the locker room after being ejected in Turkey’s game against Georgia, the Turkish team alleged (link via Semih Tuna of EuroHoops). The Turkish federation vice president, Omer Onan, is now threatening that the team will leave the EuroBasket if proper action isn’t taken.
“While Furkan Korkmaz was walking in the hallway to the locker rooms with our trainer, Georgia’s players who were not in the active roster attacked him together with the ejected player [Duda Sanadze] and the police,” Onan explained in a lengthy statement. “There should not be an attack on the player that goes to the locker room. At the end of the match, 30 policemen each pushed us into a fight. We got into a fight with Georgia’s official police. I am calling out to FIBA and I have also told FIBA’s officials.
“Let no one deceive themselves or think that we are stupid. They will bring us all the camera footage from that corridor minute by minute without anything missing. If those cameras do not come to us, we will leave this tournament. Wherever you look it, there is nothing to hold onto. The non-competing player, (Toko) Shengelia, and three people sitting on the bench went to the locker room. At the end of the match, the police were in front of our locker room. Supposedly they were protecting us but they pushed us all the time. We were going to hit each other with our fists.”
It’s unclear what injuries — if any — Korkmaz sustained. The 25-year-old was drafted by Philadelphia with the No. 26 pick in 2016. He’s spent his entire career with the franchise so far, averaging 7.6 points in 67 games this past season.
Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich believes the NBA and European basketball are becoming more similar, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes. While the quote has been condensed, Popovich did shine light on the matter. “Ten years ago, American basketball was mainly made up of threes and dunks, and with the arrival of basketball on European TV, I think everyone was very excited by this,” he said. “In Europe, on the contrary, basketball was played based on fundamentals, movement, a basketball where players move with the ball and without the ball. I think the two worlds have been apart for a while, but now we are getting closer.”
- France managed to survive Hungary’s comeback and win on Sunday, as relayed by EuroHoops. The team was led by Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, plus played his usual stellar defense.
- Team USA’s game against Venezuela on Sunday was postponed after rain leaked into the gym, according to The Associated Press. America was leading 48-21 at halftime when heavy rain caused multiple leaks and ended the contest early. The game was played in Brazil.
International Notes: Schröder, Bogdanovic, Lithuania, Bosnia
Veteran point guard Dennis Schröder, still a free agent, served as the primary force behind the German national team beating the Bosnian national team in EuroBasket play on Saturday, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
MacMahon notes that two high-ranking Mavericks front office executives, team president Nico Harrison and vice president Michael Finley, watched Schröder’s performance from court side seats. MacMahon adds that Harrison and Finley are present at EuroBasket to cheer on Dallas All-Star guard Luka Doncic, playing for Slovenia.
The 6’3″ Schroder, still just 28, split his time between the Celtics and Rockets last season on a one-year, $5.9MM deal. Cumulatively, he averaged 13.5 PPG, 4.6 APG, 3.3 RPG and 0.8 SPG across 64 games, including 29 starts.
The Mavericks currently have 14 players signed to their 15-man standard roster, as well as four training camp invitees and one two-way player.
Here are more notes from around the international basketball scene:
- Following the conclusion of this year’s EuroBasket competition, 33-year-old veteran Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic will retire from playing for the Croatian national team, per FIBA.basketball. “I would like to leave something behind me,” Bogdanovic said of his hopes to medal this year. “So this EuroBasket is a perfect chance for me and my teammates to do something special… It’s going to be pretty hard. I’m trying to help my young teammates to grow pretty quickly – and to make an impact on the game, right here, at this tournament.”
- After officials penalized German national team head coach Gordon Herbert with a technical foul in the final minutes of the third quarter of their EuroBasket game against the Lithuanian national team on Sunday, those referees failed to award a free throw to the Lithuanian national team. Germany would go on to win the game, 109-107, in double overtime, and Lithuania has opted to file a protest, per Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. “I don’t know, we should’ve won the game before [the overtime] just like the last two,” [Lithuanian team forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas] told BasketNews. “It’s tough. That one shot that we weren’t given cost us in the overtime. There’s nothing you can do now. Maybe we paid too much attention to it.”
- In a surprising upset, Doncic, Goran Dragic and the Slovenian national team fell to Bosnia 97-93 today in EuroBasket play, per Eurohoops. The loss moves Slovenia into a tie with Bosnia due to an identical 2-1 record. Doncic had won all 11 of his prior EuroBasket contests.
Northwest Notes: Sexton, Jazz Vets, Jokic, Favors
Details have emerged on the new contract signed by combo guard Collin Sexton, a key return piece from the Jazz‘s trade of All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), Sexton agreed to a four-year, $70.95MM guaranteed deal as part of a sign-and-trade with the team that drafted him in the 2018 lottery, the Cavaliers.
Marks reveals that Sexton will earn $16.5MM during the 2022/23 season, with 5% salary bumps in each subsequent season, ending in an $18.975MM cap hit in 2025/26. Marks notes that the deal includes $500K in annual unlikely incentives — if all were reached, the 6’1″ guard would earn a total of $72.95MM over four years.
Sexton, still just 23, missed all but 11 games in 2021/22, after which control of the Cavaliers’ offense landed primarily at the feet of eventual 2022 All-Star point guard Darius Garland. In his 11 healthy games, all starts, Sexton averaged 16.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.1 APG and 0.9 SPG.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets that he is skeptical of the Nuggets being able to land any Jazz veterans. Utah appears to be open to trading all of the older players on its roster for future draft picks and younger pieces, having already made four such deals thus far this offseason, including of its two 2022 All-Stars, Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Wind notes that, among Utah’s older players, jump-shooting power forward Bojan Bogdanovic would help Denver the most.
- Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the reigning two-time NBA MVP, is looking to tear it up overseas in EuroBasket for the Serbian national team, writes Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Jokic, along with fellow All-NBA European stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, is set to play five group stage games before even getting to elimination rounds.
- Following the Jazz’s aforementioned decision to enact a roster teardown and accrue future assets to kick off a rebuild, it seems likely that the heavily protected 2024 first-round draft pick included as part of last year’s trade of bench big man Derrick Favors from Utah to the Thunder will remain with Utah, writes Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. The selection is top-1o protected from 2024-25, and then top-eight protected through 2026. If it lands in its protected range for all three years, it would stay with the Jazz and the Thunder wouldn’t get anything.
Trail Blazers Waive Norvel Pelle
The Trail Blazers have opted to waive camp signing Norvel Pelle, the team announced in a press statement.
Pelle, who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Portland last month, inked a pair of 10-day hardship deals – one with the Celtics and one with the Jazz – during the 2021/22 season. In three contests for Utah, the 29-year-old big man scored six points and six rebounds in 19 total minutes.
A 6’10” center who went undrafted in 2013, Pelle played off and on for several seasons with the Sixers’ Delaware affiliate, during the team’s tenures as the 87ers and Blue Coats. He also played internationally for clubs in Taiwan, Beirut, and Italy.
After spending some time with the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, Pelle eventually made his NBA debut in 2019 with the Sixers. He has since played for the Nets, Kings and Knicks, appearing in a total of 40 games at the NBA level.
With Pelle off their roster, the Trail Blazers currently have 17 players heading into training camp. It was reported earlier today that the club is signing 23-year-old center Olivier Sarr to a training camp deal — he’ll join guards Jared Rhoden and Isaiah Miller as the Portland players on Exhibit 10 contracts.
Pacific Notes: Landale, Westbrook, LeBron, Iguodala
Jock Landale concentrated on the basics of the game during his rookie season in San Antonio and he expects to fill the same role now that he’s with the Suns, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The Australian center focused on rebounding, running the floor and knocking down open shots in the 54 games he played with the Spurs. He got traded twice this offseason — first to Atlanta, then to Phoenix — and has been adjusting to his new situation with one of the NBA’s best teams.
“That was kind of my first wake-up call that this is a business and there isn’t a whole lot of loyalty involved in the sport,” Landale said. “That’s just the way it is and just came to terms to that pretty quickly I suppose, but obviously, I’m super pumped to be with the Suns now because they’re always an organization I looked at and watched play from afar. Just love the way that they operate. Now just being here and actually experiencing the level of care and the level of winning mentality and attitudes around the locker room and the organization as a whole, you realize they’re putting so much into this year as I’m sure they have the last two years.”
Landale said he talked to several members of San Antonio’s front office during the Las Vegas Summer League, and they all spoke positively about Phoenix coach Monty Williams. Landale also got a glowing recommendation on the Suns from fellow Australian Aron Baynes, who was in Las Vegas in hopes of an NBA comeback.
“Baynes, he spoke really highly of the guys, the organization, Monty, all of that,” Landale said. “I think it’s getting to that point that Monty’s reputation kind of speaks for itself. Everybody has great things to say about him and that’s kind of the testament to the body of work he’s put in with his players as a coach. Now being on such a highly regarded winning team, nothing I say will be out of the ordinary because his reputation speaks for itself. He’s a fantastic man and coach.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers will have to give up a first-round pick to unload Russell Westbrook and two first-rounders if they’re hoping to land more than one rotation player, sources tell Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Depending on the deal, that price could increase to include pick swaps or it could decrease if L.A. is willing to take on unwanted contracts.
- Lakers star LeBron James is a bargain even at his new two-year, $97.1MM extension, according to Sopan Deb of The New York Times. In addition to his on-court value, James brings in a lot of revenue from the attention he attracts to the franchise.
- Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala defended teammate Jonathan Kuminga after ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith raised questions about the young forward’s attitude, relays Nathan Dougherty of Heavy. “My young fella, I’m on his head,” Iguodala said Friday on his “Point Forward” podcast. “He took some licks from Stephen A. I don’t know how warranted they were because from what I heard he been doing what he supposed to do this summer.”
EuroBasket Notes: Brown, Vezenkov, Sengun, Micic, Fernandez
Mike Brown is among the NBA head coaches who fully endorse having their players take part in international competitions, writes Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. Brown is attending the EuroBasket tournament to watch and support two Kings players, Domantas Sabonis of Lithuania and Alex Len of Ukraine.
“There’s nothing better in my opinion than getting yourself ready for an NBA season than playing and practicing at the level that these guys [in the EuroBasket] do,” Brown said. “You know you always worry about injury and that’s a concern of all of ours, but these guys are so passionate about playing for their country that it’s hard to not support them. You want them to do what they’re passionate about because that’s what life is about.”
Stroggylakis notes that the Kings had interest in signing another international player, Sasha Vezenkov, for the upcoming season after acquiring his rights from the Cavaliers on draft night. Brown said the organization invited Vezenkov to visit Sacramento this summer, but he declined due to his commitment to the Bulgarian national team. Vezenkov will play this season for Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece.
“We were hoping he could come out so we’d get to know him a little bit and take a look at him, but he had other commitments this summer, especially with the national team and all this stuff,” Brown said. “We have his rights, so we’ll circle back at him next summer. He’s big and versatile. He can shoot the ball, he’s a veteran, he’s smart. He just knows how to play the game.”
There’s more from EuroBasket:
- Rockets center Alperen Sengun is turning Turkey into a medal contender, per Semih Tuna of Eurohoops. The Turkish team is off to a 2-0 start and appears ready to challenge Spain for the top spot in Group A. “In the NBA we play a lot of games against legendary players,” Sengun said after Saturday’s win over Bulgaria. “We are learning constantly everything. We are learning about that busy schedule too, which I am used to it. Here, we play two back-to-back games and then have a day of rest, so we are ready for this. In the next season, things will be even better for me.”
- Vasilije Micic won’t be coming to the NBA this season, but he’s enjoying the chance to play alongside two-time MVP Nikola Jokic with Serbia, according to a Eurohoops story. The Thunder were willing to trade Micic’s draft rights this summer, but no one offered the first-round pick they were reportedly seeking.
- Former Trail Blazers and Nuggets guard Rudy Fernandez is nearing the career record for games played for the Spanish national team, Eurohoops notes in another piece. The 37-year-old moved into second place Saturday and is now just 13 games behind Juan Carlos Navarro.
Trail Blazers Signing Olivier Sarr To Exhibit 10 Deal
Free agent big man Olivier Sarr will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 23-year-old center spent most of last season with the Thunder, signing a pair of 10-day deals starting in late December and then agreeing to a two-way contract in February. He was waived in April, four days before the end of the regular season. Sarr appeared in 22 games for OKC, making two starts, and averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per night.
He took part in a Lakers mini-camp in June and played for the Suns in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Sarr’s signing will bring Portland up to 19 players, one short of the offseason maximum, with training camp about three weeks away. The Blazers also have Norvel Pelle, Jared Rhoden and Isaiah Miller on Exhibit 10 contracts.
Celtics Notes: Gallinari, Free Agents, Brogdon, G. Williams
The Celtics are expected to apply for a disabled player exception in the wake of Danilo Gallinari‘s ACL tear, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. A report Friday indicates that Gallinari hasn’t given up hope of playing toward the end of the upcoming season, but it appears to be a long shot given his age and the severity of the injury.
If the request is approved, Boston’s DPE would be about $3.2MM, which is half of Gallinari’s salary for 2022/23. The team would be able use that amount to sign a free agent, claim a player off waivers or acquire a player through trade, though Himmelsbach views that last option as unlikely because the Celtics already have two trade exceptions that are worth more.
Boston signed Gallinari in July to provide veteran help off the bench and another three-point shooting threat. His contract includes a $6.8MM player option for next season that he seems almost certain to exercise in light of the injury.
There’s more from Boston:
- With Gallinari likely unavailable for the entire season, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe looks at some options that are still available on the free agent market. He points to Carmelo Anthony, who might welcome the chance to end his career on a title contender, along with DeMarcus Cousins, Jeremy Lamb, Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge. Washburn notes that Kevin Durant‘s trade demand worked to the Celtics’ advantage because it froze the free agent market for several weeks, leaving a wealth of veteran players available in September.
- Malcolm Brogdon may used as the primary backup wing to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Brian Robb of MassLive writes in a mailbag column. Brogdon, who was acquired from the Pacers in July, has the size to handle the role at 6’5″ and is probably the team’s best defensive option at that position. Robb notes that it would also provide more backcourt minutes for Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.
- Grant Williams will likely ask for a starting salary in the mid-teens in his extension negotiations, Robb adds in the same piece. Robb doesn’t believe president of basketball operations Brad Stevens will meet that price, even though Williams becomes more important with Gallinari sidelined.
Northwest Notes: A-Rod, Garnett, Nuggets, Mitchell
The sale of the Timberwolves shouldn’t be considered in jeopardy because of Alex Rodriguez’s reported financial situation, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Krawczynski talked to multiple sources who still expect the transaction to be completed as originally drawn up, even though a New York Post story this week questioned whether Rodriguez will have the money for his share of the next payment.
Rodriguez and Marc Lore have a unique arrangement with current owner Glen Taylor in which they are taking over full ownership on an installment plan. The next payment is due at the end of this year and the final one must be made by December 31, 2023. Krawczynski says there has been skepticism in some parts of the league about Lore and Rodriguez since the deal was announced, but there’s no immediate reason to believe they’ll miss either payment.
Krawczynski also notes that the duo has earned Taylor’s trust, as he empowered them to recruit president of basketball operations Tim Connelly away from Denver and gave them a voice on the Rudy Gobert trade.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves, including Lore and Rodriguez, want to fix their relationship with Kevin Garnett and eventually retire his jersey, Krawczynski adds. The former All-Star may get the chance to buy a small piece of the team, although Krawczynski hasn’t heard of any “substantive discussions” toward that end. Garnett has also discussed being part of an ownership group for an expansion team in Seattle.
- The Nuggets traded for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and signed Bruce Brown this offseason because of their projected fit alongside Nikola Jokic, assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis said in an interview with Fastbreak on Fan Nation. “Getting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown are both moves that really stand out for us because they are two players who understand their roles and are tailor-made to play with someone like Nikola,” Balcetis said. “… With Kentavious, his abilities to shoot and defend at a high level are what separate him from others who play his position. Bruce is a versatile guy on both ends of the floor that will fit into any role we need him in as well.”
- The Jazz offered a farewell message to Donovan Mitchell after his trade to the Cavaliers became official today (Twitter link). “We got to watch you light up the league as a rookie and cheer you on as you became a perennial All-Star,” it read. “We witnessed you embrace and serve our community while standing for what’s right and uniting Jazz fans everywhere. Thank you for all the good you did here @spidadmitchell.”
Knicks Rumors: Mitchell, Rosas, Barrett, Grimes
The Knicks believe they could have topped the offer that sent Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers, but they never got the chance to make a counterproposal, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Talks with the Jazz were on hold after word leaked late Monday night about an extension agreement with RJ Barrett. The Knicks were hoping to resume negotiations, but Utah reached a deal with Cleveland before that could happen.
Some members of the Knicks didn’t feel like they got “a fair shake” in the trade talks, and Bondy wonders whether the experience is related to the team’s high-profile appearance at a Jazz-Mavericks playoff game in April. New York, which was known to have interest in both Mitchell and Jalen Brunson, whom it ultimately signed, sent executives William Wesley and Allan Houston to the game, along with Julius Randle. They all sat at courtside, which reportedly upset officials from both Utah and Dallas.
The Knicks could have offered the Jazz more draft assets than they got from Cleveland, and they believe their early offers that centered on Barrett and first-round picks were better than the final deal. Bondy states that it’s unlikely that Utah executive Danny Ainge would sabotage a deal because of bitterness over the playoff stunt or a feud with CAA, but Bondy notes that Ainge only made one trade with the Knicks during his 18 years in the Celtics’ front office.
There’s more from New York:
- Gersson Rosas, who serves as senior basketball advisor with the Knicks, handled most of the negotiations with Utah, sources tell Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rosas has a friendly relationship with Jazz general manager Justin Zanik, so they did most of the talking instead of Ainge and Knicks president Leon Rose, according to Washburn’s sources. Although Rosas didn’t complete the deal, the report shows that he has assumed more than just an advisory role with the franchise.
- The Knicks’ decision to give Barrett an extension was in reaction to the failed talks with the Jazz, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. A league source tells Berman that under normal circumstances, the team would have preferred to watch Barrett go through training camp before discussing the extension or possibly even wait until he hit restricted free agency next summer. The Knicks drafted Barrett before Rose and Wesley joined the organization. “They didn’t want to pay RJ now, they like RJ, but he’s not one of their guys,’’ Berman’s source said. “The preference was to trade him in a Donovan deal. … If they got Donovan without Barrett in the deal, they weren’t going to pay RJ now.’’
- New York’s priority in trade talks was keeping Quentin Grimes, states David Aldridge of The Athletic. Aldridge recommends that the Knicks should dip into their stockpile of draft assets to try to get Myles Turner and Buddy Hield from the Pacers.