Ben Simmons Wants To Play In World Cup
Ben Simmons is hoping to represent Australia in this summer’s FIBA World Cup, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Simmons sat out nearly the last two months of the Nets‘ regular season because of lingering pain in his back, but he’s indicated that his rehab work is going well. The Boomers’ first World Cup game will take place August 26 in Okinawa, and their training camp will likely start in early August.
Australian national team head coach Brian Goorjian recently expressed hope that Simmons would be able to participate, and Simmons told The Daily Telegraph in Sydney (subscription required) that he’ll try to be ready.
“I’m currently rehabilitating my back injury and putting my full effort and focus towards that,” Simmons said. “I love what coach Goorjian is building with the Boomers and I look forward to being a part of the program in the future.”
Lewis points out that the microdiscectomy that Simmons underwent last May to repair a herniated disc typically carries an 18-month recovery timeline for the nerves to be fully healed. A nerve impingement that sidelined Simmons in February is common among people who undergo that operation, according to medical experts that Lewis consulted.
Sources close to Simmons and the team told Lewis that a second surgery isn’t likely to be necessary, although a final decision won’t be made until later this month. Lewis adds that Simmons has been working out regularly at the Nets‘ facility and recently posted pictures from those sessions on Instagram.
Playing in the World Cup would give Simmons a chance to sharpen his skills ahead of Brooklyn’s training camp, which starts in late September. The Nets will need the three-time All-Star back in top form to serve as a leader of their rebuilt roster.
Celtics Notes: G. Williams, R. Williams, Smart, Griffin, Brown
While his Celtics teammates were celebrating their Game 3 victory Friday night, Grant Williams was in a dentist’s chair, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Williams had to get treated by the Sixers’ team dentist after Joel Embiid accidentally stepped on the back of his head while chasing a loose ball in the fourth quarter (video link).
“A swollen nose,” Williams said. “That’s about it and stitches in the mouth. I think it was three or four.”
“I thought it would be a smart decision to throw a mouthpiece in there,” he said at Saturday’s practice. “My parents have been getting on me for the past three years for not wearing a mouthpiece. Let’s just say last night didn’t help.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Robert Williams also had an injury scare on Friday night, hurting his right arm while saving a loose ball in the fourth quarter, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Doctors examined the arm after he was taken out of the game, and he was diagnosed with a right forearm contusion. Williams wore a sleeve on the arm today, but said he was feeling fine. He expects his team to face an even tougher test in Game 4. “We know what we’re coming into,” he said. “The crowd was crazy, we could barely hear each other last night. But the same fight, man. We expect to leave out the game with more scars than yesterday.”
- Marcus Smart has been listed as questionable for Game 4 with a sprained left ankle, Terada, adds in another MassLive story. Smart was questionable for Game 2 of the series with a chest contusion, but wasn’t on the injury report for Game 3. Blake Griffin, who was a late scratch for Friday’s game because of low back pain, is also considered questionable for Sunday. The veteran big man hasn’t played yet in the Sixers’ series and made just one brief appearance during the first round.
- Jaylen Brown‘s defense on James Harden has played a huge role in turning the series around, observes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. After Harden’s 45-point outburst in the series opener, the Celtics began using Brown as the primary defender on him. Harden has been limited to 12 and 16 points the last two games and shot a combined 5-of-28 from the field.
Central Notes: Bucks, Cavaliers, Brooks, Vucevic
Since the Bucks dismissed Mike Budenholzer on Thursday, we haven’t heard much about which head coaching candidates the team may be eyeing to replace him. Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Countdown on Friday (YouTube video link), Adrian Wojnarowski said he thinks Milwaukee can afford to be patient and perhaps wait for more teams to be eliminated from the playoffs in case a veteran coach employed by one of those clubs becomes available.
“Is there a coach or two who either becomes free with the team they’re at or there’s a conversation to be had with a team about a potential coach?” Wojnarowski said. “Because this is a Bucks team with Giannis Antetokounmpo, it’s an incredibly attractive job.”
It’s unclear which coaches Wojnarowski might be referring to. There was some speculation entering the postseason that Nuggets coach Michael Malone could be on the hot seat if Denver exited the playoffs quickly, but Malone’s club has looked pretty good so far.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com doesn’t expect the Cavaliers to view free agent forward Dillon Brooks as a good fit, arguing that Cleveland’s defense is good enough to win in the playoffs and observing that Brooks is a “half-court liability” on offense, where the team needs to improve. Fedor names Kelly Oubre, Donte DiVincenzo, Harrison Barnes, Max Strus, and several other players as more logical free agent targets.
- Among the burning questions facing the Cavaliers this summer will be whether or not they bring back Caris LeVert and what Ricky Rubio‘s role will be going forward, says Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.
- The fact that the Bulls didn’t trade Nikola Vucevic at February’s trade deadline signals that they probably intend to re-sign him this offseason, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who believes Vucevic’s price will be at least $18MM per year or so.
And-Ones: NBA Media Rights, Kuzma, Poeltl, Blanks
Analysts at JPMorgan recently issued a report stating that the exponential growth of sports media rights is unsustainable in the long term, according to Mike Ozanian of Forbes, but the NBA remains on track to do extremely well on its next deal. The league’s nine-year, $24 billion agreement with its current partners expires in 2025 and the NBA will reportedly look to double or triple that amount on its next rights contract.
With some regional sports networks around the country struggling to make payments to teams, the NBA’s next media deal may lean more heavily on broadcast television and/or streaming platforms, creating alternatives for teams when their current agreements with RSNs expires, per Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explores the same topic, citing a source with knowledge of the situation who says the NBA would like to get more games on broadcast television and fewer on cable in its next media rights deal. Vorkunov confirms that NBC has displayed interest in getting the NBA back and adds that several streamers – led by Amazon and Apple – are believed to have interest in broadcasting NBA games.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- After previously breaking down this summer’s free agent market for guards, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report shifts his focus to 2023’s free agent wings and big men. Pincus suggests this year’s crop of wings isn’t especially deep and that most of the market’s top players – such as Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma – are far more likely to stay put than to change teams. Within his story on bigs, Pincus says multiple sources view the Raptors as a “lock” to re-sign Jakob Poeltl.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic shines a spotlight on the minimum-salary players who are making a difference for playoff teams, including Lakers guard Austin Reaves, Suns forward Josh Okogie, and Heat guard Gabe Vincent, among others. Those players will all be free agents this summer and are in position to receive significant raises.
- Lance Blanks, a former NBA player for the Pistons and Timberwolves, died on Wednesday at age 56, per The Detroit News. After retiring as a player, Blanks worked as a scout with the Spurs, then was later hired by the Cavaliers as an assistant general manager and by the Suns as their GM. Most recently, he served in a scouting role for the Clippers. “Lance was a light for all those who knew him,” former Pistons star Joe Dumars said in a statement. “It’s been a privilege to have called him one of my closest friends. I’m eternally grateful for all the support he has shown me throughout the years.” Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News has more on Blanks’ passing.
Jimmy Butler To Return For Game 3
MAY 6: Butler will be available for Game 3, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
MAY 5: The Heat have yet to offer an official update on Jimmy Butler‘s status for Game 3 vs. the Knicks, but the star forward is planning to play on Saturday, a source tells Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Head coach Erik Spoelstra has continually deflected questions about Butler, who missed Game 2 due to a sprained right ankle and seems likely to be listed as questionable for Game 3. Spoelstra told reporters today that there likely won’t be a definitive update on the injured swingman until close to game time on Saturday.
However, like Winderman, Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald have also heard that there’s optimism about Butler’s chances to play tomorrow.
Obviously, getting Butler back in the lineup would significantly improve the Heat’s odds of defeating the Knicks and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. The 33-year-old averaged an eye-popping 37.6 points per game on .597/.444/.708 shooting during Miami’s first-round upset of the Bucks and was the team’s leading scorer in its Game 1 win over New York, racking up 25 points and 11 rebounds in 43 minutes.
With Butler’s status still up in the air, the Knicks have been preparing for both scenarios – the six-time All-Star being available or out – leading up to Game 3.
2023 NBA Offseason Preview: Houston Rockets
The Rockets finished with a .500 or better record for 14 consecutive seasons from 2007-20. When their franchise player, former MVP James Harden, asked for — and was granted — a trade to start 2020/21, it was the beginning of a rough three-year stretch of basketball in Houston.
The team finished with the worst record in the league in both ’20/21 and ’21/22, and was tied with San Antonio at 22-60 for the NBA’s second-worst mark in ’22/23. The Rockets finished 30th, 30th and 29th in defensive rating over those three seasons, so obviously improving on that front will be a top priority under new head coach Ime Udoka, who replaced Stephen Silas after the Rockets declined to pick up their option on the last year of Silas’ contract.
The past two draft lotteries have seen the Rockets land the second (Jalen Green) and third (Jabari Smith) overall picks. Will 2023 be the year they win the lottery and select Victor Wembanyama?
They’re certainly hoping that’s the case. After winning a tiebreaker with the Spurs, Houston will draft no lower than sixth overall.
The Rockets’ Offseason Plan:
There have been conflicting reports over the past week about the status of at least one member of the team’s core. One rumor stated that, while interviewing head coaches, the Rockets broached the subject of including Green in trade talks to try and acquire a star this summer. Another indicated that Green, Smith, Tari Eason and Alperen Sengun were Houston’s primary core.
I don’t think the idea of trading Green should be entirely dismissed, but I’d be surprised if he’s moved. He’s still only 21 years old and has two years left on his rookie contract. Sure, he’s struggled with scoring efficiency and defense, but those are normal growing pains for a young player, and it’s not like the Rockets had a strong foundation on either end of the court.
The other three players mentioned should be safe. One big knock I had against Silas was how disorganized the Rockets were offensively. The fact that he admitted the team rarely ran plays for Smith – who struggled to find quality looks throughout his rookie season – was unacceptable to me, because they were setting him up to fail — it’s not like he was known as a shot creator coming out of Auburn.
Kevin Porter Jr. and/or Jae’Sean Tate look to me like the most likely trade candidates on the roster. That’s not to suggest I necessarily think they will be traded or that they’re bad players — just that they make the most sense to be on the block from a fit standpoint. I don’t think Porter is a true point guard, and while Tate brings a lot of positive attributes, he’s not a good three-point shooter.
After a solid third season, Kenyon Martin Jr. is a good bet to return, either on his minimum-salary team option or – if the Rockets turn down his option to negotiate with him as a restricted free agent, like they did last summer with Tate – on a new contract. I don’t think Daishen Nix will be on the roster in ‘23/24 – his salary is non-guaranteed, and while he’s only 21, he was among the worst semi-regular rotation players in the NBA this season.
Armed with the most cap room in the NBA this summer (about $60MM), the Rockets will certainly look to be aggressive and make major strides in ‘23/24, for a number of different reasons. For starters, if the team is unable to land any of its top targets, I could see general manager Rafael Stone getting fired before the season even begins, because the front office has been very forthright about building toward this point in time.
A report in December indicated that owner Tilman Fertitta has grown “antsy” with the state of the Rockets’ rebuild. That makes sense – it’s a drastically different team than the one he purchased, and it has lost a lot of games lately.
Another reason Houston wants to improve next season is the team owes its 2024 first-round pick (top-four protected) to Oklahoma City as part of the Chris Paul/Russell Westbrook trade (the Rockets owe the Thunder their 2026 first-rounder as well).
When you’re as bad as the Rockets have been over the past three seasons, you need help everywhere. Aside from the defense, three other areas in particular stand out: three-point accuracy, assists and turnovers. They finished last in the league in all three of those categories.
Perhaps that’s why the Rockets have been consistently linked to Harden this season. One of the most prolific scorers and three-point shooters in NBA history, the 33-year-old led the league in assists for the second time in ’22/23 at 10.7 APG. He also posted a career-best 3.17-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Harden holds a $35.64MM player option for ‘23/24 and is far from a lock to leave Philadelphia, where he has a much better shot at winning his first championship. Still, there’s a reason the rumors won’t go away, and his ties to Houston are obvious.
The problem is, if the Rockets give him a four-year max deal projected to start at $46.9MM (and a total of $201.67MM), they won’t have enough remaining cap room to sign another veteran impact player — maybe someone like Jerami Grant. Perhaps Harden would be willing to take another discount like he did last summer to improve the team, but that’s a tougher sell with a team that isn’t close to contention.
That’s one reason why I wouldn’t be surprised if Porter is dealt, because it could open up enough salary to sign another player at a starting salary of about $31MM.
Harden might not even be atop Houston’s wish list. He’s a decade older than most of the players on the roster, as is Khris Middleton, another player who has been floated as a potential target.
They’ll have other options. Not a ton, because it’s not a great free agent class, but there are alternatives.
Splitting that $60MM to go after Fred VanVleet and Grant could be one route they could take. Or VanVleet and a big offer sheet to Cameron Johnson. Or using some of their cap room on a free agent and the rest to accommodate a trade for a disgruntled star. You get the point.
The Rockets’ draft assets shouldn’t be overlooked either. While the club probably won’t trade its lottery pick, its second first-rounder (No. 20) could be a useful sweetener if the team wants to make a win-now trade.
The most important thing will be to not strike out, because the advantage of remaining below the cap floor has been reduced in the new CBA, and the Rockets have plenty of incentives to improve.
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
Kevin Porter Jr. ($18,239,000)- Jalen Green ($9,891,480)
- Jabari Smith ($9,326,520)
- Jae’Sean Tate ($6,500,000)
- Alperen Sengun ($3,536,280)
- Tari Eason ($3,527,160)
- Usman Garuba ($2,588,400)
- Josh Christopher ($2,485,200)
- TyTy Washington ($2,320,440)
- Total: $58,414,480
Dead/Retained Salary
- None
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Kenyon Martin Jr. ($1,930,681): Bird rights
- Note: If Martin’s option is exercised, his salary would become guaranteed two days before the July moratorium. If it’s not exercised, he would be eligible for restricted free agency.
- Total: $1,930,681
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Daishen Nix ($1,836,096)
- Total: $1,836,096
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 2 overall ($10,718,760)
- Note: This is only a placeholder until the draft order is determined via the lottery.
- No. 20 overall ($3,170,400)
- Total: $13,889,160
Extension-Eligible Players
- Kenyon Martin Jr. (veteran)
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2023/24 season begins.
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Frank Kaminsky ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Boban Marjanovic ($1,989,698 cap hold): Bird rights
- D.J. Augustin ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Willie Cauley-Stein ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Michael Frazier ($1,774,999 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Total: $9,733,791
Note: Frazier’s cap hold remains on the Rockets’ books from a prior season because it hasn’t been renounced. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Room exception: $7,609,000
- Trade exception: $3,892,917
- Note: Expires on June 26.
- Trade exception: $3,089,360
- Trade exception: $293,920
Suns Notes: Booker, Durant, Ayton, Landale, Warren
With Chris Paul unavailable for Game 3 of the Suns‘ second round series vs. Denver, stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were asked to carry even more of the offensive load on Friday — it’s hard to imagine how they could have responded any better to that task.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes, only five pairs of teammates in NBA history have combined to score more points in a single playoff game than the 86 Booker and Durant racked up last night. While Durant needed 31 shots from the floor to score his 39 points, Booker poured in a hyper-efficient 47 on just 25 field goals and two free throws.
“He doesn’t run from the tough stuff,” head coach Monty Williams said of his star guard. “I just think it’s his makeup. He understands not having Chris puts more on his plate, but I don’t think he forced it the way that you would think. I think he allowed the game to happen naturally and then when there were opportunities for him to push the issue. He was pretty efficient.”
Durant, who has only been a Sun since February, told reporters after Friday’s win that his co-star’s performance came as no surprise to him, suggesting that these sort of superstar performances are what he expected from Booker when he arrived in Phoenix.
“He’s just a leader of this team, this organization,” Durant said. “He brings it every single day. We just follow his imprint, and we rally around him.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Booker has a tendency to frequently revisit his own past, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst notes within a profile of the Suns’ star, which has made him all the more appreciative of the team’s present opportunity to fight for a championship. Phoenix didn’t win more than 24 games in a season until Booker’s fifth year in the NBA. “Just being from a young team to an established team now is just something totally different. But I wouldn’t change my journey for anybody else’s,” he said ahead of the second round. “… It’s tough taking them Ls early on. But I think I got to develop my game, and I had people that believed in me, the organization that believed in me and I just took it from there.”
- While Booker and Durant came up big in Game 3, it was a disappointing night for big man Deandre Ayton, who had as many fouls as points (four) and was benched in favor of Jock Landale in crunch time. Ayton – whose 2021/22 season ended with a benching – was “visibly upset” when he was removed from the game with just under five minutes remaining, but he energetically supported Landale and his teammate down the stretch, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Although Ayton didn’t speak to the media after the win, Durant told reporters that he expects the center to have a big Game 4, Rankin adds.
- The Suns’ reserves stepped up in a major way on Friday, writes Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic. After getting just four bench points in Game 2, Phoenix bumped that number to 22 in Game 5, with Landale and T.J. Warren giving the team a spark. Making his first appearance of the series, Warren logged 26 minutes of action and the Suns outscored Denver by 20 points while he was on the court.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Maximum Salary
There are many NBA players technically on maximum salary contracts, but most of those players didn’t earn identical salaries this season, making the league’s “maximum salary” something of a misnomer. While each NBA player has a maximum salary that he can earn in a given season, that number varies from player to player, with a handful of factors playing a part in determining the exact figure.
The primary factor in determining a player’s maximum salary is his years of service. If a player has been in the NBA for no more than six years, he can earn up to 25% of the salary cap in the first year of his deal. Players with seven to nine years of experience can earn up to 30%, while veterans with 10 or more years in the NBA are eligible for up to 35% of the cap. In 2022/23, the salary cap is $123,655,000, meaning the maximum salaries are as follows:
| Years in NBA | Salary |
|---|---|
| 0-6 | $30,913,750 |
| 7-9 | $37,096,500 |
| 10+ | $43,279,250 |
The figures above explain why Zach LaVine, who signed a maximum salary contract with the Bulls last July following his eighth NBA season, earned a salary of $37,096,500 this season. But they don’t explain why Suns star Devin Booker, who is also in that 7-9 year window and is on a max contract of his own, made just $33,833,400.
The reason Booker’s maximum salary is a few million shy of LaVine’s is that those league-wide maximum salary figures only apply to the first year of a multiyear contract.
When a player signs a maximum contract, he can receive annual raises of up to either 8% or 5%, depending on whether he signs with his previous team or a new team. So by the third, fourth, or fifth year of his contract, he could be earning significantly more or less than his updated max for that season, depending on the rate the salary cap has been increasing and whether or not he has moved into a new “years of service” group.
Booker signed his first maximum salary contract extension in 2018 and it went into effect in 2019/20, when he had fewer than six years of NBA experience. Although he has received annual 8% raises since then, those raises haven’t been enough to keep up with the annual cap growth and with his move into the 7-9 year window. As a result, he earned about $3.26MM less than his actual max in 2022/23, despite being on a “max contract.”
Booker signed a new contract extension last summer that will go into effect in 2024/25, at which point he’ll receive a major pay bump and surpass LaVine’s annual earnings.
Here are a couple more ways a player’s usual maximum salary can fluctuate:
- A free agent’s maximum salary is always at least 105% of his previous salary. For example, Warriors star Stephen Curry is earning $48,070,014 this season. He’s under contract for three more years, but if he were eligible for free agency this offseason, he’d be eligible to receive a starting salary of up to $50,473,515 (105% of this year’s salary), even though that figure will easily exceed 35% of the 2023/24 cap.
- In certain situations, players eligible for new contracts can earn the maximum salary for the level above the one they’d typically fall into. A player receiving a designated rookie extension can earn up to 30% of the cap instead of 25% if he meets certain criteria. A veteran can become eligible to earn up to 35% of the cap instead of 30% if he meets the same criteria, which are related to MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or All-NBA honors.
A player who signs a maximum salary contract can receive a trade kicker as part of his deal, but he can’t cash in on that bonus for any amount beyond his maximum salary in a given league year. For instance, Bradley Beal‘s max salary contract with the Wizards features a 15% trade kicker, but if he had been traded this season, he wouldn’t have been eligible to receive that bonus, since he was already earning his maximum salary of $43,279,250.
Similarly, a maximum salary player whose team finishes the season below the minimum salary floor isn’t eligible to receive a share when the team distributes that money to its players, since his max salary for that year can’t be exceeded.
The current figures for maximum salaries in 2023/24 are as follows, based on the NBA’s projection of a $134MM salary cap:
| Years in NBA | Salary |
|---|---|
| 0-6 | $33,500,000 |
| 7-9 | $40,200,000 |
| 10+ | $46,900,000 |
These figures will apply to players who previously signed maximum salary extensions that will go into effect in ’23/24, including Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Darius Garland, and Nikola Jokic.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were previously published by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.
Community Shootaround: Open Head Coach Jobs
The Rockets completed their head coaching search a week-and-a-half ago, hiring Ime Udoka to replace Stephen Silas. However, there are still three NBA teams still in the market for new coaches.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Interestingly, those three clubs – the Bucks, Pistons, and Raptors – are at very different stages in terms of their development, so even if they consider some of the same candidates, they’ll likely have very different expectations for their new hires, especially in the short term.
Milwaukee won a title in 2021 and expected to make it back to the NBA Finals in each of the last two seasons. The fact that they only won a single playoff series during that stretch is why Mike Budenholzer is out of work — his replacement will be expected to make deeper postseason runs with a roster headed by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While the Bucks’ roster has championship upside, the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will limit the front office’s flexibility going forward and could hamstring the team’s ability to make additional upgrades. It also may force management to make difficult decisions on upcoming contracts for key contributors on the wrong side of 30, including Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
Detroit is on the opposite side of the spectrum, having won no more than 23 games in a season in any of the last four years. There are some promising young pieces here – including Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and whichever player the team drafts in the top five next month – but the Pistons are all about unrealized potential.
No one on the roster has made an All-Star team, and the next step for the club will be contending for a play-in spot, not a championship. So while a new head coach will be expected to help Detroit take a step forward right away, there won’t be any immediate expectations of winning playoff series.
The Raptors are somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. The team’s 41-41 record this past season was a disappointment, given the presence of former All-Stars like Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, along with 2022 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes and three-and-D standout OG Anunoby. But the roster probably lacks the star power and depth necessary to legitimate vie for a championship.
Toronto traded away its 2024 first-round pick with minimal (top-six) protection, so the team won’t want to take a step back next season, even if it makes some significant roster changes. The new head coach will be expected to get the Raptors back to the postseason and not just to make a quick exit.
We want to know what you think: which of the NBA’s three current head coaching vacancies do you view as the most and least appealing jobs? What sort of candidates do you think would be good fits in Milwaukee, Detroit, and Toronto?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Harden, Borrego, Nets
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who finished fourth in Most Valuable Player voting this season, was motivated on Friday night by watching Joel Embiid receive his MVP trophy before Game 3 of the Sixers/Celtics series in Philadelphia, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
It wasn’t exactly Hakeem Olajuwon dominating David Robinson and the Spurs following Robinson’s MVP ceremony in 1995, but Tatum led the Celtics to a 114-102 win in Game 3, scoring a team-high 27 points and helping Boston reclaim home-court advantage in the series.
“It just got me really ready to play,” Tatum said of the pregame ceremony, per Collier. “You could feel the energy from the crowd and the building. I’m happy for (Embiid). He earned it, he deserved it, but I was just focused on trying to win tonight.”
In addition to his 27 points, Tatum grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, handed out five assists, and had a a pair of steals and a block, earning praise from his teammates for a “superstar” performance.
“He played a terrific game all around, but he finished a tough game on the road in a hostile environment for us,” Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “That’s what superstars do.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- After scoring 45 points on 17-of-30 shooting in Game 1, James Harden has totaled just 28 points on 5-of-28 shooting in his last two games, both Sixers losses. Embiid wants to see his star teammate be more assertive on offense going forward, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I mean, you just talk to him and you keep telling him to keep shooting,” Embiid said after Friday’s loss. “Be aggressive. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Some nights you’re going to make lots of other shots, a lot of tough ones, and some nights you’re not going to make them. So it’s about finding other ways to impact the game.”
- After Marc Stein suggested that the Nets could be one of the teams with interest in James Borrego as an assistant coach, a league source confirms to NetsDaily that Brooklyn is “100%” in on pursuing Borrego for a spot on Jacque Vaughn‘s staff. The Nets, who are parting ways with multiple assistant coaches, also expressed interest in Borrego last year, per NetsDaily.
- Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) poses four questions for the Nets to answer this offseason, including what their long-term plan is at point guard and what the cost will be to re-sign restricted free agent Cameron Johnson.