Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Rosas, Jokubaitis, Ainge
In a recent interview with Michael Grady of YES Network (video link), Nets team president Sean Marks once again defended embattled Brooklyn guard Ben Simmons. Simmons, who missed the entire 2021/22 season due to mental health issues and a herniated disc in his lower back, had reportedly aimed to return in the first round of the playoffs, but experienced a setback.
“It’s a little bit of a testament that one, he tried to get back out there and tried to help his teammates and secondly, we have to be careful not judge people,” Marks said. “And if you’re outside that medical profession, when you’re chiming in from afar, you just have to be a bit careful of what you’re saying because you really don’t know.”
Simmons opted to treat the back injury with surgery after the Nets were officially eliminated in a 4-0 first-round sweep by the Celtics.
“Nobody wants to have surgery,” Marks said. “It’s the last resort but it’s bygone now and we’ve got to move forward on this, we’ve got to support him and so forth.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Former Timberwolves team president Gersson Rosas has an official title with the Knicks, having been named a senior basketball advisor, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Rosas was let go from Minnesota under murky circumstances and later joined the Knicks as a consultant. Begley notes that determining where Rosas slots in among the Knicks’ front office pecking order will be important during a critical 2022 offseason for New York.
- The Knicks are considering leaving 2021 draft-and-stash second-round pick Rokas Jokubaitis, currently playing for Barcelona in the EuroLeague Final Four, overseas to develop for another year, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman opines that New York could have more flexibility to sign the point guard prospect in 2023, after several short-term Knicks contracts come off the books. Jokubaitis averaged 7.2 PPG and 2.8 APG across 17 MPG in 35 EuroLeague contests this season.
- Former Celtics team president Danny Ainge, now in the Jazz front office, has enjoyed seeing the progress of his old team, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. The Celtics are now trailing the Heat 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. “I’ve been proud of this team all year,” Ainge said. “I really liked watching guys develop when I was there, and it’s been great watching guys like Jayson [Tatum] and Jaylen [Brown] and Marcus [Smart] and Rob [Williams] and all of them take another step this year. They just beat a great team, the defending champs.” Ainge drafted Tatum, Brown, Smart and Williams during his Celtics front office run.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Sheppard, Hornets, Magic
Following a disappointing 4-1 first-round playoff loss to the Heat, the Hawks could undergo significant roster overhaul, predicts Chris Kirshner of The Athletic. In a new piece, Kirshner assesses who among Atlanta’s current personnel may not return for the 2022/23 NBA season.
“Yes, I think we should have tried to get better rather than bring back what we had,” team owner Tony Ressler recently said of the Hawks’ 2021 offseason team building. “That won’t happen again. It was a mistake, in my opinion at least.”
Among the priciest players, Kirshner considers forwards John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, and Danilo Gallinari, plus unrestricted free agents Gorgui Dieng and Lou Williams, unlikely to return to the Hawks next year.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard had plenty of thoughts regarding the lottery-bound team’s preparation for the 2022 NBA draft, including the NBA Combine in Chicago this week, writes Jackson Filyo of Wizards.com. Washington will have the No. 10 pick this year. “The combine is a continuation of the work we have already done,” Sheppard said. “We have been evaluating some of these players since they were 14 or 15 years old… At the combine, you want to see their character, you want to see how they react, how they respond to coaching. You want to see how they respond to different environments.”
- Now that the Hornets know they will be drafting near the end of the 2022 lottery with the No. 13 pick, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer takes stock of four candidates worth considering: Duke center Mark Williams, Wisconsin small forward Johnny Davis, Memphis center Jalen Duren, and LSU forward Tari Eason. Boone adds that the Hornets will also have the No. 15 pick in the draft as a result of their sign-and-trade deal that landed Devonte’ Graham with the Pelicans. Boone notes that one or both of those selections could be bundled into a trade for a veteran.
- The Magic have landed the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft for the first time since 2004, and the fourth time in the franchise’s history. Orlando has an opportunity to add one of the top young prospects entering the draft this season, per Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m so happy for our fans tonight,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said. “They really stuck with us and nights like this help when you can show the fruits of why you go through these phases and cycles. Hopefully, they’re really excited by this. We’re going to add another good young player to our talent base.”
California Notes: Porter, Warriors, Looney, A. Ranadive
Warriors reserve forward Otto Porter Jr. is “probable” to suit up for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said that Porter was a full practice participant on Tuesday, according to Andrews.
Porter missed Game 6 of the Warriors’ Western Conference Semifinals due to right foot soreness, a 110-96 Golden State victory. The 6’8″ veteran forward has proven to be a sharpshooting backup for the Warriors, and will reach free agency this summer.
There’s more out of California:
- The Warriors made a mint during the first two rounds of the playoffs. Golden State netted about $7MM in gross box office per home game en route to a Western Conference Finals return, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, who says that number will increase this round. This season marks the first time since the team’s 2019 Finals run that the Warriors have made the playoffs at Chase Center. The Warriors made the play-in tournament in 2021 but did not advance to the playoffs.
- It appears possible that the Warriors could start center Kevon Looney to begin the Western Conference Finals to counter Mavericks big man Dwight Powell, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter video link). “Loon will play a big role,” Kerr said. “He played well against Dallas in the regular season. We’ll see what that means in terms of combinations, starters, all that.”
- Kings owner Vivek Ranadive‘s daughter Anjali Ranadive will serve as the assistant GM for Sacramento’s NBAGL affiliate club, the Stockton Kings, per Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL in Sacramento (Twitter link). Cunningham notes (via Twitter) that the younger Ranadive has already been working with the team’s social responsibility department, and her new position will include player evaluations and development, as well as team strategy.
Marcus Smart, Al Horford To Miss Game 1 Of Eastern Finals
Celtics starting point guard Marcus Smart and big man Al Horford will miss the first game of their Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Heat tonight, Boston has announced (via Twitter).
Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, had previously been considered questionable with a right mid-foot sprain. Reserve guard Derrick White could get the starting nod in Smart’s absence.
The absence of Horford is a surprise. The Celtics have revealed that the 35-year-old veteran, a former five-time All-Star, has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Horford was a crucial part of the Celtics’ interior attack against the Bucks during the Eastern Semifinals. Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that the Celtics are anticipating they will be without Horford at least through Game 2 of the series on Thursday.
Starting center Robert Williams, who has not played since Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals for Boston with a knee injury, will be available to play. Reserve forward Grant Williams turned in a stellar Game 7 in the place of Robert Williams, and could get the starting nod as Horford’s replacement tonight. Daniel Theis may also receive additional minutes. Wojnarowski tweets that Robert Williams underwent some encouraging team practices and will be able to log major minutes against the Heat.
Miami is not without its own injury issues heading into the series. The Heat will also be missing their starting point guard, former six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry, as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury. Guards Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin have all been listed as questionable ahead of tonight’s contest, as has starting power forward P.J. Tucker.
Kenny Atkinson To Receive Second Hornets Interview
Warriors assistant coach and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is set for a second interview with the Hornets as a candidate for their head coaching vacancy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Atkinson and the Warriors will face the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, set to tip off on Wednesday.
Prior to his Warriors tenure, Atkinson recorded a 118-190 record with Brooklyn from 2016-20. His middling record was largely due to the rebuilding team he coached prior to the free agency acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019. Atkinson has also notched assistant stints with the Knicks, Hawks and Clippers.
Earlier today, it was revealed that Bucks assistant Darvin Ham would also receive a second interview, and ex-Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts would be a candidate for the gig as well.
Former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, current Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Bucks assistant Charles Lee and Nets assistant David Vanterpool are also apparently in the running.
Following the 2021/22 season, Charlotte fired former head coach James Borrego. Borrego accrued a 138-163 record across four seasons with the Hornets. Led on the court by 2022 All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, Charlotte qualified for the 2021 and 2022 play-in tournaments, but failed to advance to the playoffs either time.
Keep tabs on all the head coaching rumor mill chatter via our search tracker.
Central Notes: Grant, Pistons, Pacers, Haliburton
After securing the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft and selecting talented guard Cade Cunningham, the Pistons are hoping to have similar lottery luck this year. Detroit’s landing spot in Tuesday’s draft lottery could help add some clarity to the team’s decision on the long-term future of veteran forward Jerami Grant, writes Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.
The Pistons could opt this offseason to extend Grant, whose deal with the club expires in 2023 after he earns $21MM next season. Should the Pistons find a suitable young replacement candidate in the draft, the team may opt to move on from the 28-year-old forward.
During his second season with the Pistons, Grant missed 35 games with a left calf strain. In his 47 healthy contests, he averaged 19.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.4 APG and 1.0 BPG, with shooting splits of .426/.358/.838.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Pistons will have a variety of players to choose from wherever they land within the NBA lottery, writes James Edwards of The Athletic. Edwards takes a look at a handful of mock draft scenarios for Detroit depending on just where that selection ends up. Edwards notes that Purdue guard Jaden Ivey could rocket up the draft board for several clubs, and may be an intriguing top-four candidate for Detroit.
- The lottery-bound Pacers held their first pre-draft workout of the 2022 offseason Friday at the St. Vincent Center with six young prospects. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files offers a breakdown of the day, including intriguing tidbits on draft hopefuls Josh Minott, a 6’8″ guard out of Memphis, and Hyunjung Lee, a 6’7″ guard out of Davidson.
- New Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton hopes to stick around in Indiana for the long haul, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “I want to be here and I want to be part of it,” the 22-year-old said of his future with the franchise. Agness notes that Haliburton has remained in Indiana, working out consistently, since the team’s season came to an official close. He sat courtside to watch the Indiana Fever defeat the Minnesota Lynx 82-76 earlier this week. The 6’5″ guard averaged 17.5 PPG, 9.6 APG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in his 26 games with Indiana after being dealt by the Kings.
Karl-Anthony Towns Receives Significant Medical Treatments
All-Star Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns had been playing through a litany of ailments during Minnesota’s recent playoff run, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. The injuries were significant enough that Towns decided to receive several medical treatments for them in the hopes of avoiding offseason surgery.
According to Shelburne, the 6’11” big man out of Kentucky had been playing through the injuries throughout the Timberwolves’ postseason run, which included a play-in tournament win over the Clippers and a hard-fought 4-2 first-round loss to the Grizzlies.
Shelburne reveals that Towns had been struggling through pain in both his knees, plus a dislocated left wrist with ligament damage, an aggravated right hand middle finger joint, and a cyst in his left ankle. To address these maladies, the 26-year-old was given platelet-rich plasma injections and stem cell therapy in all the impacted areas.
Towns’ goal for receiving these various treatments now is to stave off surgery and completely recuperate from the procedures in time for Minnesota’s training camp in the fall.
Alongside second-year shooting guard Anthony Edwards, Towns led a resurgent Timberwolves team to a 46-36 regular season record and its first playoff berth in four years. Towns was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 24.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.1 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in 74 games. He also posted a slash line of .529/.410/.822.
Steve Kerr Returning To Warriors Bench For WCF Game 1
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has exited the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and will be available to coach the club in the Western Conference Finals, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Kerr had entered the NBA’s coronavirus protocols ahead of Game 4 in the Western Conference Semifinals series vs. the Grizzlies. Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown, who will depart Golden State’s bench after the season to become the Kings’ head coach, stepped in for Kerr for the final three games of the series. Brown guided the Warriors to an eventual 4-2 second-round series victory.
The Warriors will be playing in their sixth Western Conference Finals since Kerr’s hiring in 2014. Golden State will face the winner of tonight’s Game 7 second-round matchup between the top-seeded Suns and the fourth-seeded Mavericks. Game 1 of the Western Finals is scheduled for Wednesday.
Kerr offered an update on the health of Otto Porter Jr., as well, noting that the Warriors forward did not partake in on-court workouts with the team, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). Porter, who missed the team’s series-clinching Game 6 of the Conference Semifinals due to right foot soreness, was exercising on a stationary bike today, per Slater (via Twitter).
“I talked to him and he said he was feeling better,” Kerr said. “We’re hopeful he will be able to play Game 1.”
According to Andrews (Twitter link), Kerr also offered up an injury update on another Warriors role player, suggesting that guard Gary Payton II may become available to suit up for Golden State at some point during the next round of the playoffs.
“It would be a long shot for him to play, but I think it’s a possibility,” Kerr said.
Payton suffered a left elbow fracture at the hands of Dillon Brooks on May 3, and was initially expected to miss at least three-to-five weeks of game action. A Western Conference Finals return would be on the early side of that timeline.
Celtics’ Robert Williams Cleared For Game 7
Celtics center Robert Williams will be available for the deciding Game 7 in the team’s second-round series against the Bucks today, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Left knee soreness kept Williams sidelined for the past three games. He incurred a bone bruise after colliding with Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3.
Grant Williams, who has replaced Robert Williams in the Boston starting lineup since Game 4, will continue to start at center for the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com (via Twitter).
Boston head coach Ime Udoka indicates that Robert Williams’ knee has no current structural limitations, Bulpett adds. Further comments by Udoka seem to suggest that Williams may not see the floor much.
“We’re not relying on him to come in and save the day,” Udoka said of Williams, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Weiss notes that Udoka has suggested the Celtics will bring in the recuperated Williams if the game dictates a need for his services.
Along with 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award winner Marcus Smart, Williams proved to be one of the key anchors for one of the NBA’s top defenses during his best professional season to date. The 2021/22 campaign was Williams’s first year as a full-time starter. The 24-year-old out of Texas A&M averaged 10.0 PPG on 73.6% field goal shooting, plus 9.6 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG, across 61 contests, all starts.
Grizzlies’ Zach Kleiman Wins Executive Of The Year Award
Grizzlies general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman has been voted the 2021/22 NBA Executive of the Year, the league has announced (Twitter link).
According to the NBA, the 33-year-old Kleiman is the youngest winner of the honor in its history. He’s also just the second Grizzlies executive to take home the award, joining Jerry West, who was named Executive of the Year for his work during the 2003/04 season.
Kleiman earned 16 of 29 possible first-place votes from his fellow NBA executives, netting a total of 85 points in his favor from the league’s voting system. He previously finished sixth in voting for the 2019/2020 NBA season.
Cavaliers president Koby Altman and Bulls president Arturas Karnisovas earned 27 points apiece, tying for second place as they led a pair of longtime lottery clubs back to the postseason with savvy personnel moves. The Cavs did not advance out of the play-in tournament, and the Bulls lost 4-1 to the Bucks in their first-round matchup.
The top five was rounded out by another tie, as Suns GM James Jones, the 2020/21 NBA Executive of the Year, and Heat president Pat Riley each notched 26 points in voting. Both their top-seeded clubs lead their respective Conference Semifinals series 3-2 as of this writing.
“This is an organizational honor,” Kleiman said of the award in a Grizzlies press release. “I wouldn’t be in this position without [owner] Robert [Pera]’s vision and support, and I’m grateful to be pursuing NBA championships in Memphis with such a driven and competitive group of players and staff. Thank you to my peers for this recognition.”
Thanks in part to the excellent roster-building work of Kleiman, Memphis finished with a 56-26 record in the Western Conference, tying the club’s all-time franchise mark for regular season wins. During a condensed 2020/21 season, the Grizzlies finished with a 38-34 record and lost to the Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Breakout Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, selected with the second pick out of Murray State in 2019, made his first All-Star team and won the 2021/22 Most Improved Player Award for his work this season. Morant was the first draft pick Kleiman made as the Grizzlies’ lead executive, a role he has had since April 2019.
The Grizzlies first hired Kleiman to serve as their in-house legal counsel in 2015. He became assistant GM to under then-lead decision maker Chris Wallace during the 2018/19 season. Kleiman was subsequently promoted following a team re-structuring that moved Wallace to a scouting role.
This award could be honoring Kleiman’s long-term rebuilding with Memphis, as he reshaped the roster from one supporting aging stars Marc Gasol and Mike Conley to this new, deep club full of youth and promise around Morant.
Kleiman traded for the draft rights to No. 30 pick Desmond Bane in 2020, who finished fifth this season in Most Improved Player voting behind Morant. He also sagely opted to ink wing Dillon Brooks and big man Jaren Jackson Jr. to lucrative contract extensions during his tenure as front office head. Ahead of the 2021 season, Kleiman traded for center Steven Adams and the rights to rookie Ziaire Williams, the No. 10 pick in the 2021 draft.
Memphis currently trails the Warriors 3-2 in its Conference Semifinals series.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.