Heat Notes: Strus, Vincent, Heat Culture, Yurtseven
Max Strus has started every single one of the Heat‘s 12 playoff games so far and has scored at least 14 points in each of his last six appearances, averaging 15.8 PPG on .493/.375/.875 shooting in 31.0 minutes per night during that run. As Sean Deveney of Heavy.com writes, Strus is strengthening his case for a solid multiyear contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“It does not happen much that guys get paid off playoff runs, like it used to 20 years ago,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “But what he is doing is making a point to the Heat that they should bring him back. They are looking at some pretty big tax problems, and that makes it tough. But he has been showing how valuable he is to what they do.
“He is going to have teams willing to pay him the tax exception (worth a projected $7.55MM) but maybe that goes higher, maybe to the full MLE ($12.22MM). He is not all that young (27 years old), but he does not have a lot of wear and tear and he probably has another 10 years in the league, so some of these rebuilding teams like Orlando or San Antonio, they’d have to take a good look at him as a polished guy who can spread the floor.”
According to Deveney, there had been a belief that Strus might end up commanding a deal similar to the one Caleb Martin signed with the Heat last offseason: three years and about $20MM. But if his strong postseason run continues, he could end up exceeding that projection.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- The years the Heat spent developing undrafted players like Strus and Gabe Vincent are paying dividends in this spring’s postseason, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Just because you’re undrafted doesn’t mean you’re a bad basketball player,” said Vincent, the team’s starting point guard since February 4. “We’re talented and we come in here and we work and we grind, and the organization, the coaching staff puts in the time, as well, with us and they believe in us.”
- While the much-lauded “Heat culture” became the butt of some jokes when Miami was struggling, the team’s performance during this year’s playoffs has proven that the term isn’t just a buzzword, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “It’s real,” Jimmy Butler said prior to the start of the Eastern Conference Finals. “More than anything, it’s the belief we have in one another, the belief you must have in yourself to realize how special you can be in this league, in this moment, in this organization. I think everybody has bought into that. Everybody is confident. The confidence that Heat culture instills in every one of us is very real.”
- Heat center Omer Yurtseven suffered a nose contusion during a Thursday scrimmage, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Yurtseven is listed as questionable for Game 2 on Friday, though he hasn’t been part of the club’s playoff rotation anyway, appearing in just two games in garbage-time minutes.
- Although it nearly cost his team a playoff spot, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is a fan of the NBA’s play-in tournament, telling reporters on Thursday that the battle for play-in positioning forced Miami to play more competitive games during the second half of the season. “I do know the play-in helped,” Spoelstra said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “There are far less teams tanking. Everyone was fighting for it those last two months. Every game was must-see TV and that was in both conferences. So I think (for) the league, that’s probably the best thing that’s happened in the last decade.”
Rockets Reportedly Expect To Land James Harden
The Rockets expect to reunite with James Harden this offseason, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to Pompey, the belief among executives across the NBA is that Harden will return to Houston. Sources tell The Inquirer that the 33-year-old’s interest in rejoining the Rockets is genuine and not a negotiating tactic to get a bigger contract out of the Sixers. Houston has the cap room necessary to offer him a maximum-salary deal.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta “loves” Harden, according to Pompey, who hears that coaching candidates during Houston’s search for Stephen Silas‘ replacement were asked during their interviews about their thoughts on coaching Harden.
For his part, the veteran guard still has family and business ventures in the city, where he spent eight-and-a-half years of his NBA career. He also visited Houston multiple times this past season when time permitted, says Pompey.
Very little from Pompey’s report is new information.
Word of a possible reunion between the Rockets and Harden first broke on Christmas Day and was corroborated a couple months later. Jake Fischer reported last week that Harden’s name came up frequently during the Rockets’ interviews of head coaching candidates, while Adrian Wojnarowski said the draft lottery outcome wouldn’t affect Houston’s level of interest in the former MVP. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Zach Lowe agreed in a podcast that the Rockets “think he’s coming.”
Still, even if Pompey’s report isn’t surprising, it’s noteworthy to see a Philadelphia beat writer state in such strong terms that a return to Houston is the expected outcome for Harden.
The Rockets have been one of the NBA’s worst teams since trading Harden to Brooklyn in January 2021, but they’re motivated to turn things around in 2023/24 since they’ll send their ’24 first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it lands outside of the top four. Multiple reports have indicated that the organization wants to acquire veteran talent this summer.
Although Harden missed out on All-Star honors this year for the first time since 2012, he still posted strong numbers during the regular season, averaging 21.0 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game with a .441/.385/.867 shooting line in 58 appearances (36.8 MPG).
His playoff production was inconsistent — his overall averages of 20.3 PPG, 8.3 APG, and 6.2 RPG were solid, but he shot just 39.3% from the field during the postseason and averaged only 12.5 PPG in four losses to Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
We still have nearly a month-and-a-half before free agency officially begins, so even if Harden declines his 2023/24 player option with the Sixers, as he reportedly will, things could change in the next six weeks.
Philadelphia will have the ability to offer him more money than the Rockets, though Houston can afford to be aggressive, with the ability to create approximately $60MM in cap space. Harden’s projected maximum salary will be $46.9MM.
Given that the Rockets have the cap room necessary to sign a Harden outright, they’d have little incentive to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with Philadelphia. The 76ers, meanwhile, wouldn’t be in position to create meaningful cap room if Harden left in free agency, so they could be left in a tough spot in that scenario.
As Pompey notes, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told reporters this week that the team’s priority is re-signing Harden.
“Scenario A would be to bring James back,” Morey said. “Scenario B, if he’s not back, we’ll have to get creative.”
Nick Nurse Expected To Meet With Bucks, Suns
In addition to interviewing with the Sixers, Nick Nurse is expected to meet with the Bucks and Suns to discuss their head coaching positions, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
According to Charania, Nurse is expected to be in “high demand” this spring and could end up having one more than one job offer to choose from.
There are currently five NBA teams with head coaching openings. Besides Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Phoenix, the Raptors and Pistons are in the market for coaches. But Toronto just parted ways with Nurse and Detroit is believed to be in the final stages of its search.
Nurse won a championship in 2019 with the Raptors and was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2020, earning praise for his creative defensive schemes. Across five seasons, Nurse had a 227-163 (.582) regular season record and a 25-16 (.610) playoff mark as Toronto’s head coach.
As our head coaching search tracker shows, the Bucks are conducting a wide-ranging search as they seek a replacement for Mike Budenholzer — reports have indicated that they’ve interviewed or will interview at least 13 candidates. Nurse is the fifth candidate said to be meeting with Phoenix.
Draft Decisions: Gueye, Jackson, Bates, Hunter, Omier, More
Washington State sophomore big man Mouhamed Gueye will keep his name in the 2023 NBA draft, a source tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Gueye has been taking part in the draft combine this week in Chicago, so the feedback he has received there presumably factored into his decision.
Gueye enjoyed a breakout season in 2022/23, averaging 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game across 33 appearances. He currently comes in at No. 47 on ESPN’s big board, making him a solid candidate to be drafted.
Here are a few more updates on early entrants who are deciding whether or not to remain in the draft:
- Although UConn junior guard Andre Jackson is still technically testing the draft waters, his comments at the combine strongly suggest he’s planning to stay in this year’s draft, as Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com writes. Discussing UConn’s chances of repeating as NCAA champions next season, Jackson said that he’s “probably going to be out.” He’s currently the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
- Butler forward Manny Bates doesn’t show up on ESPN’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects, but he has decided to remain in the draft and go pro, agent Marquiest Gadson tells Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Texas guard Tyrese Hunter has opted to return to the Longhorns for his junior season, he announced on Instagram. He tested the draft waters after averaging 10.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG as a sophomore.
- Miami forward Norchad Omier is pulling out of the draft and returning to the Hurricanes for his senior season, reports Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Omier was among the prospects who took part in the G League Elite Camp last weekend.
- Senior center Qudus Wahab is withdrawing from the draft and will transfer from Georgetown to Penn State for his final year of NCAA eligibility, tweets Rothstein. Wahab put up 9.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG as the Hoyas’ primary starting center last season.
- Purdue big man Zach Edey may take his draft decision down to the wire, gathering as much information as he can before making a call, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “I really won’t know my answer for what I’m doing until basically the deadline,” said Edey, who is considered a candidate to be picked in the second round.
Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Dunleavy, Myers, CBA
Although Jonathan Kuminga showed promise in an increased role during his second NBA season, the young forward wasn’t part of the Warriors’ playoff rotation, receiving three DNP-CDs in the postseason and playing more than 10 minutes in just one game. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays, head coach Steve Kerr explained the thinking behind that decision in his end-of-season media session earlier this week.
“The biggest thing was with (Andrew Wiggins) and Gary (Payton II) in place again, it lessened the need for what JK’s strength is right now, which is on-ball defense,” Kerr said. “The best way for Jonathan — and I told him this — the best way for him to get more playing time is to become a more versatile player.
“… The more things you can do, the more easy it is to fit into a five-man lineup. Rebounding is a huge thing for JK. If he’s going to be a great player in this league, he’s got to rebound. A four-man with that kind of size and athleticism, that’s the next step, and continuing to work on all the things that he’s working on already, the shooting and the ball handling and the court vision, understanding what’s happening on the floor. It’s all going to get better because he’s so young and because he’s willing to work.”
A report last week indicated that Kuminga’s representatives would talk to the Warriors about the 20-year-old’s role going forward and may prefer a change of scenery for their client if his minutes continue to be inconsistent. However, Kerr’s comments suggested that he’s looking forward to incorporating the former lottery pick into his rotation in 2023/24 — he expressed confidence in Kuminga’s potential to break out in his third NBA season.
“If you look at Jonathan’s regular season, he did some great things,” Kerr said, per Slater. “I tell him all the time, he’s got 15 years ahead of him. He’s got such a long career ahead. He’s got a lot of ability and he’s just in the process of learning the NBA game.”
Here’s more out of Golden State:
- After Marc J. Spears of Andscape reported that Mike Dunleavy Jr. represented the Warriors at this week’s general manager meetings in Chicago, Slater cautioned (via Twitter) that it wasn’t necessarily a hint at Bob Myers‘ plans for his future, since Dunleavy has stood in for Myers in other capacities in the past. Slater points out that Dunleavy’s role as Golden State’s “backup” GM is one reason why he’s widely viewed as Myers’ eventual successor.
- If Myers does decide to remain in his president/GM position with the Warriors, the expectation is that his annual salary will surpass $10MM, says Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. A report this week stated that the two sides hadn’t engaged in real negotiations in months and remain far apart.
- Tim Kawakami and Danny Leroux of The Athletic take a closer look at how the Warriors will be affected by the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, with Leroux noting that many of the more punitive restrictions for teams above the new second tax apron won’t go into effect right away. However, Leroux believes that teams over the second apron – including Golden State – will be prohibited from using the taxpayer mid-level exception and signing buyout players in 2023/24.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, K. Williams, Anderson, Jazz
While Charlotte’s pick at No. 2 represents the first pivot point of the 2023 NBA draft, the Trail Blazers‘ decision at No. 3 is arguably even more interesting. That pick is a valuable one in a draft considered to have a consensus top three prospects, but Portland is eager to build a contender around Damian Lillard in the short term and may be more inclined to trade the choice.
In the view of Jason Quick of The Athletic, the Trail Blazers’ only real option – if they’re serious about keeping Lillard and building a winner around him – is to trade the pick. But ESPN’s Jonathan Givony isn’t sure Portland will take that route, suggesting during an appearance on Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast that he believes the Blazers will hang onto the selection.
“I don’t see them trading it either, honestly,” Givony said, per RealGM. “I think they would be very happy with Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson. “I also think they’re going to kick the tires on the Thompson twins and Cam Whitmore. I think this is going to be a process here where they’re looking at a lot of different options.”
If the Blazers do shop the pick, the expectation is that they’ll be targeting two-way impact players, a league source tells K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. As Johnson observes, Lillard has strong relationships with Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, but neither of those offensive-minded Bulls wings really qualifies as a two-way dynamo.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Thunder wing Kenrich Williams underwent a follow-up procedure on Tuesday to remove hardware that was inserted during his March wrist surgery, the team announced. According to Thunder, Williams’ rehab process is still on the same timeline, and he remains on track to be ready for the start of the 2023/24 season.
- Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson, who sustained an eye injury during the team’s first-round playoff series, underwent surgery on Wednesday to address the issue, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North. While there’s no official timeline for Anderson’s recovery, there’s no indication he won’t be ready for training camp.
- Tony Jones of The Athletic sketches out an offseason to-do list for the Jazz, including identifying a point guard, resolving Jordan Clarkson‘s free agency, and comprehensively investigating what trade opportunities might be out there for them.
Atlantic Notes: Dowtin, Raptors, Simmons, Harden-Doc
Raptors reserve point guard Jeff Dowtin underwent surgery on his right ankle, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). Lewenberg adds that Dowtin will be in a walking boot for about two weeks, and will recuperate under the supervision of the Raptors’ medical staff over the summer.
Signed to a two-way deal with Toronto, Dowtin appeared in 25 games for the club, averaging 10.4 MPG. With the Raptors’ NBAGL affiliate, he averaged 16.9 PPG, 6.1 APG, 4.2 RPG and 1.7 SPG.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Raptors have the No. 13 pick in this summer’s upcoming draft. Eric Koreen of The Athletic speculates about how Toronto will handle the draft selection. Koreen is fairly confident that the Raptors will hold on to the lottery pick to add a solid young player, rather than trading it.
- Nets guard Ben Simmons has moved on to the next phase of his rehabilitation from the nerve impingement that ended his 2022/23 season, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Ben has been cleared to progress to his next stage of his rehab and is progressing really well,” his agent Bernie Lee told Lewis this week. “And we remain very excited about his ability to return to form next year.”
- Sixers point guard James Harden has been pinpointed by Doc Rivers staffers as a key behind-the-scenes factor in the ex-head coach’s departure from the team, sources inform Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Fischer cautions (Twitter link) that any possible Harden influence in the choice to move on from Rivers would have been one of several elements impacting that decision.
Sixers To Interview Nick Nurse This Week
Former title-winning Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is set to interview with the Sixers this week, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philadelphia fired previous head coach Doc Rivers after the team’s seven-game second-round playoff loss to the Celtics last week.
Nurse was previously identified as a candidate for the Sixers gig. In his first season as Toronto’s head coach, he guided the club to its first-ever NBA championship, led by Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam on the floor.
After Leonard departed as a free agent that summer, the Raptors’ subsequent season outcomes were up and down. The team never got out of the second round during the next four years.
All told, Nurse posted a 227-163 regular season record during his five seasons as the head man in Toronto. He was dismissed from the position after the Raptors failed to win a single play-in game this spring.
The Sixers, who have yet to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs with reigning MVP Joel Embiid on their roster, are clearly looking to take the next step in their postseason development. Experienced former head coaches Monty Williams, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel , plus longtime assistant coach Sam Cassell, are also rumored to be on Philadelphia’s shortlist.
Ja Morant Notes: League, Silver, Nike, Suspension
The latest gun-related incident involving Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant could adversely affect the reputations of the rest of the NBA’s players, opined Tim MacMahon of ESPN during a recent episode of The Basketball Illuminati Podcast.
“I’m curious what stance [the players association] might take,” MacMahon said. “I’ve talked to agents of other superstar players and they’re pissed off too. Because this is not just a bad look for Ja Morant. This is not just a bad look for the Memphis Grizzlies. This reflects poorly on the entire league… Other teams are livid about this and other agents are livid about this because they feel it reflects poorly on everybody.
“I’m talking to an agent of another superstar and he’s like ‘Man, this really taints the image of the whole league,'” MacMahon continued. “‘I’ve got my clients who are doing everything right, who are never sniffing any kind of trouble. Positive members of their community.’ So on and so forth, but then the perception is going to be ‘Look at this fool who thinks playing with guns on Instagram Live is cool.”’
There’s more out of Memphis:
- Morant’s recent regression has frustrated and disappointed several figures around the league, but the opinion of NBA commissioner Adam Silver is more important than anyone else, writes Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Morant met with Silver to discuss the gravity of his previous suspension-inducing behavior with a gun in March. Giannotto believes that, given Silver’s comments about the latest actions of Morant, the commissioner will be considerably less lenient than he was in doling a punishment last time.
- Until this season, Morant had been one of the NBA’s leading luminaries. Accordingly, he had his own line of Nike shoes in the pipeline. Now, the Nike app has stopped listing his Hunger Ja 1 sneakers ahead of their scheduled May 25 release, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- After Morant’s prior eight-game suspension this season, Jemele Hill of The Atlantic believes a considerably lengthier one in 2023/24 could potentially help the Grizzlies guard appreciate what he stands to give up should he continue this kind of behavior.
Knicks Notes: Barrett, Draft Pick, Roster, Shooting
Knicks small forward RJ Barrett had a relatively strong playoff showing this year. Now, Steve Popper of Newsday wonders if the young swingman, who will be in the first year of a lucrative extension next season, is truly a building block for New York’s future.
Popper notes that Barrett’s three-point shooting has been on the decline for years now, from 40.1% two years ago to 31.0% in 2022/23. Barrett is also not quite the passer that some had hoped he would become.
Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post is convinced that Barrett is looking like more of a prize as time wears on. Vaccaro notes that the former No. 3 overall pick improved as a mid-range shooter and post scorer this season, and enjoyed a fairly strong two-way run through the first two rounds of the playoffs before the Knicks were eliminated by the Heat last week.
There’s more out of New York:
- The Knicks appear to have a bright future ahead of them following their best postseason showing in a decade. Zach Braziller of The New York Post unpacks the team’s entire roster and speculates about next steps for each player after a 47-35 season and second-round playoff showing.
- The Knicks missed out on adding a 2023 lottery draft pick when the Mavericks moved into this year’s top 10, but Braziller writes in another article that this could actually prove to be a blessing in disguise for New York. Because the pick that Dallas owes the Knicks will roll over to 2024, where it will again be top-10 protected, New York could boast up to four ’24 first-rounders that could be used in a trade for an impact player. The Knicks, who control their own 2024 first-rounder, are also owed a top-12 protected pick from the Wizards and a top-18 protected pick from the Pistons. Though a still-rebuilding Detroit team seems likely to remain in the lottery next season, Braziller believes the other two traded picks could convey.
- One big area for growth that the Knicks need to prioritize this summer is three-point shooting, opines Fred Katz of The Athletic. Katz notes that New York was able to offset its lackluster long range efficiency during the 2022/23 regular season by securing oodles of offensive rebounds and avoiding costly turnovers. Katz believes that offloading even a high-level player like Barrett, Julius Randle or Mitchell Robinson may be needed to improve the team’s shooting.