Pacific Notes: Jones, CP3, Morris, Simmons
Suns general manager James Jones won his first NBA Executive of the Year award after just two years on the job. In a new piece, Gina Mizell of Suns.com details how Jones netted the honor.
As Mizell details, two years to the day before Jones won the award, he had his first draft as full-fledged team GM, selecting Cameron Johnson on June 20, 2019.
“[When] I was first drafted here, it was like, ‘Oh man, this team is terrible. I was a terrible pick. This team was destined for failure.’” Johnson reflected. “Then to get to this point now, going into the Western Conference Finals … (it) shows the trust and the faith and the confidence we have in one another.”
“He’s a big reason why we’re having the success, because of the team that he’s put together and the character of the players and the talent that he’s assembled,” head coach Monty Williams (a Jones hire) said of the man his NBA colleagues used to nickname “Champ.” “Just happy for him. He’s changed this thing in a short period of time.”
Among his more impactful moves for the 2020/21 season, Jones traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul, signed starting power forward Jae Crowder, and traded for reserve swingman Torrey Craig. The Suns finished the abbreviated 2020/21 season with a 51-21 record, good for the second seed in the Western Conference.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Though Suns point guard Chris Paul will miss at least the first two games of Phoenix’s Western Conference Finals matchup against the Clippers, the 11-time All-Star has managed to remain a vocal figure even from a distance, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. “We put him on FaceTime,” All-Star Suns shooting guard Devin Booker said. “We lean on him for a lot, and we know how disappointed he is and frustrated he couldn’t be out here for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, especially knowing his past history around this time. But we know we had him all the way through. We brought him in the locker room. We had him in our after-game huddle. So he’s proud of us.” Paul continues to grapple with the NBA’s coronavirus-related health and safety protocols and will miss Game 2 of the series on Tuesday.
- Clippers forward Marcus Morris suffered a knee injury during the first half of the Clippers’ 120-114 Game 1 loss to the Suns on Sunday. Though Morris is not on the club’s official injury report ahead of Game 2 yet, L.A. coach Tyronn Lue said that he was unsure whether Morris would suit on Tuesday, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
- After Sixers All-Star point guard Ben Simmons underwhelmed in his club’s seven-game second-round series loss to the Hawks, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area wonders if the Kings should consider trying to trade for the All-Defensive First-Teamer. Ham notes that Simmons will not come cheap, as the 24-year-old just completed the first season of the five-year, maximum-salary extension he signed with the team in the 2019 offseason. Though Ham asserts that Sacramento would not part with young guards De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton, he thinks that Simmons, though not a perfect match due to his flaws as a shooter, could be worth a look.
Chris Paul To Miss Game 2 Of Conference Finals
All-Star Suns point guard Chris Paul will miss his second straight game of the team’s Western Conference Finals matchup against the Clippers on Tuesday, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Gambadoro notes that Paul is still in the NBA’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19.
[RELATED: Chris Paul Symptom-Free, Hoping To Return Soon]
The club won its first game in the series on Sunday, 120-114, largely on the strength of a 40-point triple-double from Paul’s All-Star backcourt mate Devin Booker.
This marks just the second time in Paul’s 16-year career that the 11-time All-Star has earned a conference finals appearance. In the playoffs thus far, the 36-year-old is averaging 15.7 PPG, 8.7 APG, and 4.1 RPG in 31.2 MPG. He boasts a stellar shooting line of .509/.444/.912.
Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Nets Free Agents, Nets Assistants, Stevens
After the Sixers suffered through a seven-game second-round playoff exit as the top seed, head coach Doc Rivers has stated that the club will address the shooting struggles of All-Star Ben Simmons during the offseason, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
“I believe, without going into detail with what we’re doing, I believe we know what the right work is, and the right type of work, and the right way to do it,” Rivers said of the Sixers’ plan for Simmons. “We’re not hiding that Ben has to become a better free throw shooter and a more confident free throw shooter.”
During the playoffs this season, Simmons connected on just 34.2% of his 6.1 free throw attempts per game, and attempted one total three-pointer. The Sixers guard was timid in looking to score late in games. He had just three fourth-quarter field goal attempts in the entire series, fewer than role players Dwight Howard, Matisse Thybulle, George Hill, Tyrese Maxey, and Furkan Korkmaz.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Several key Nets players will be free agents during the 2021 offseason, prompting Michael Scotto of HoopsHype to project the market value for the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie, Blake Griffin, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. The league executives Scotto spoke with speculated that Dinwiddie is looking to leave Brooklyn and will hope to command an annual salary in the “high teens.” Rival NBA executives peg the value of both Griffin and Green as ranging anywhere from the bi-annual exception to the taxpayer mid-level exception. Because Brown is a restricted free agent, the Nets will be able to match any offer sent his way. Executives project Brown to net a yearly salary between $4-7MM.
- The Nets might not just be undergoing some changes on the hardwood. Their sideline may look a bit different for the 2021/22 season too, as many assistants are in the running for the seven currently available NBA head coaching jobs, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman writes that assistant coach Mike D’Antoni appears to be a finalist for the Trail Blazers head coaching gig, while fellow assistant coach Ime Udoka is in the running for the Celtics’ vacancy.
- For the first time, Celtics team president Brad Stevens has discussed his decision to trade point guard Kemba Walker and two picks to the Thunder in exchange for Moses Brown, old friend Al Horford, and a 2023 second-round draft pick, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “The ability to make our wings (All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) better is going to be a huge part of the people that will be around them,” Stevens said Monday in explaining the thinking behind the deal. Stevens, of course, coached Walker for two injury-plagued seasons before moving into the front office earlier this month. Stevens also cited future finances as a consideration in his decision.
Kawhi Leonard Still Sidelined For Game 2
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has confirmed that All-Star wing Kawhi Leonard will remain sidelined for Game 2 of L.A.’s Western Conference Finals series against the Suns, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today. Leonard has been unavailable since the closeout Game 6 of the Clippers’ second-round series against the Jazz with a right knee sprain.
While Leonard is unable to contribute on the court, he continues to stay engaged with the Clippers from afar, Medina writes for USA Today. Lue said that Leonard helped the club make some key halftime adjustments to beat the Jazz in Game 6.
“He came into the coaches’ office, just talking about different strategies,” Lue said. “He just wanted to know our game plan, how we are going to start, what’s our coverages and things like that. So he’s very engaged.”
Clippers center Ivica Zubac also said that Leonard remains involved with the club, and continues to text the team in a group chat thread while they’re on the road in Phoenix and in-person in Los Angeles, tweets Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.
Lue has stated previously that he hopes Leonard can rejoin the Clippers on the court at some point during the series, but is game-planning as if the All-NBA forward will be unavailable.
The team is also missing nominal starting center Serge Ibaka, done for the postseason after undergoing back surgery earlier this month. The status of big man Marcus Morris ahead of tomorrow’s Game 2 remains up in the air, Medina also noted. Lue said that Morris is “getting treatment around the clock,” but “is still experiencing soreness.” Morris suffered a knee injury in the first of Game 1, a 120-114 Suns victory.
Courtney Lee Hoping For NBA Return
Longtime NBA swingman Courtney Lee is hoping to make his return to the league after undergoing calf surgery in 2020, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“I’m 100% recovered (from the calf surgery) and hoping I can get on with a team for training camp,” Lee said, per MacMahon. “I am definitely not retired.”
Lee, 35, may be clarifying a quote from a recent interview with Jared MacDonald of The Bowling Green Daily News, in which he himself alluded to retirement.
“Man, I’m going into the first year of being retired,” Lee is quoted as having told MacDonald. “I’m picking up golf. It’s a new hobby for me. It’s keeping me busy… I’m enjoying the down time. I get to spend time with my family and live life normal, so I’m enjoying where I’m at right now.”
A 12-year NBA veteran, Lee was selected with the No. 22 pick in the 2008 draft by the Magic out of Western Kentucky. He soon became the starting shooting guard for the lone Dwight Howard-fronted Magic team to make the NBA Finals in 2009.
Lee subsequently logged time with the Nets, Rockets, Celtics, Grizzlies, Hornets, and Knicks. His most recent stop was a stint with the Mavericks following a 2019 trade deadline deal with New York. He last suited up for Dallas during the 2019/20 season.
Provided he has recovered fully from his calf surgery, Lee should still hold value as a sharpshooting bench reserve. The 6’5″ shooting guard, an unrestricted free agent since the 2020 offseason, has appeared in 811 NBA games (518 starts), and holds career averages of 9.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, and 1.0 SPG. His career shooting line is .451/.388/.853.
Southeast Notes: Bradley, Robinson, Weltman, Hawks
After Tim MacMahon of ESPN noted in a Hoop Collective Podcast appearance that the Rockets are expected to decline their $5.9MM second-year team option on the contract of guard Avery Bradley, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel said he believes the 30-year-old guard could be a nice cost-effective fit with the Heat.
Given that the Heat dealt him to the league-worst Rockets at the deadline this season, and that Bradley’s availability (and efficacy) was significantly hampered by injuries, Winderman acknowledges that the guard may look elsewhere first. Following the trade, Bradley averaged 5.2 PPG (while shooting 31.4% from the field and 27.0% from deep), 2.3 RPG and 1.9 APG across 23.0 MPG in 17 contests with the team.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Restricted Heat free agent Duncan Robinson has teased that he may provide his own scoop regarding his future with the franchise on his podcast The Long Shot, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The sharpshooting swingman, 27, just completed his third NBA season with Miami, who signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2018 out of Michigan. He has emerged as one of the top shooters in the NBA. In 2019/20, Robinson connected on 44.6% of his 8.3 three-point attempts a night. During the ’20/21 season, Robinson made 40.8% of his 8.5 three-point tries.
- Magic team president Jeff Weltman spoke with Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com about the upcoming draft lottery, among other topics. “We’re already in deep preparation mode in ranking players, trying to gain an understanding of how we see each guy fitting into our team, and watching a lot of video, having spirited debates, (and) start(ing) to establish tiers and ranking systems,” Weltman said. “So, it really from that end of things doesn’t change. What it will do is it will inform us of how we can more efficiently begin to work. Once we know how many picks we’ll have, where we’re picking, we can kind of put a finer point on that work. And our work will kind of turn a corner after the lottery.”
- The Hawks are hoping to win a game in Philadelphia for the third time in their seven-game second-round series against the Sixers, writes Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Should the Hawks advance today, they will face off against the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. “You have to look at that, the fact that we have won there twice in this series,” head coach Nate McMillan said. “So you should feel confident that you can win in that building. We’ve done well, I would say, in the playoffs on the road (the Hawks are 4-2 in playoff road games this season]) And I think we feel we have to play with confidence on the road, and as (star point guard Trae Young) mentioned, it’s a one-game series now.” McMillan is currently an interim head coach with the club, having replaced Lloyd Pierce during the season. His playoff run with the Hawks should bode well for a long-term future with the team.
Suns GM James Jones Named Executive Of The Year
Suns team owner Robert Sarver announced ahead of Phoenix’s first Western Conference Finals game in 11 years that general manager James Jones has won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award for the 2020/21 season, Gina Mizell of Suns.com tweets.
The award is voted on by NBA execs rather than by media members. Jones received nine first-place votes and 65 overall points, narrowly beating out Jazz executive VP Dennis Lindsey, who earned nine first-place votes and 61 points, per a press release. Nets GM Sean Marks placed third with 51 points.
“I want to thank Robert for this opportunity,” Jones said to a raucous Phoenix home crowd, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic (video link). “All I can say is ‘Go Suns, let’s win.'”
A 14-year NBA pro as a 6’8″ wing out of Miami, Jones won three titles with the Heat and Cavaliers. He first joined the Suns as the club’s vice president of basketball operations in 2017, before being promoted to interim GM in October 2018, and finally to full-fledged GM in 2019.
The award is well-deserved this season, as Jones helped orchestrate several key moves that elevated the promising young Suns into legitimate title contenders.
Jones hired head coach Monty Williams in the summer of 2019, helping lay the groundwork for the club’s turnaround from an extended lottery purgatory. The Suns just barely missed the NBA playoffs in the 2019/20 season, finishing with a 34-39 record and the No. 10 seed in the West during the Orlando restart “bubble”
Jones, 40, acquired 11-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul in a November 2020 trade with the Thunder ahead of the season, and signed savvy two-way forward Jae Crowder, hot off a Finals appearance as the Heat’s starting power forward, to a team-friendly three-year, $29.3MM deal in free agency. During the season, Jones also traded for athletic wing Torrey Craig to shore up the club’s bench depth.
This season, the Suns finished with a 51-21 record, good for the No. 2 seed in the crowded Western Conference. With the Jazz eliminated from contention, Phoenix will now enjoy home court advantage for the rest of the playoffs.
Led by Paul, homegrown superstar Devin Booker, plus promising third-year talents Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton (both of whom Jones had a say in selecting as VP of basketball operations), the Suns are facing the Clippers today in the first game of a best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series. Paul is currently in COVID-19 protocols, but expected to be available later in the series.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Green, Grizz, Holt, Silas
Despite a disappointing Game 7 first-round elimination, rookie Mavericks shooting guard Josh Green learned plenty during his first NBA playoff experience, writes Dwain Price of Mavs.com.
Green, the No. 18 pick in the 2020 draft out of Arizona, only made a brief cameo in the series, logging four minutes during a 106-81 Game 4 blowout.
“I’ve got a whole experience the last three weeks of watching five of the best players in the NBA,” Green said during his media exit interview for the season. “I think it’s just one of those things where, obviously you want to be on the court playing. But at the same time, just try to take away as much as you can from being around great veterans on your team and just in general just watching games and just taking in as much as you can.”
Green will represent his native Australia in the Olympics next month, where he hopes to soak up more NBA knowledge from veteran teammates like Ben Simmons, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- After the Grizzlies returned to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal pinpoints three key elements the club needs to focus on during the 2021 offseason. Barnes notes that the club could use upgrades in bench scoring, veteran leadership out of a new player who sees rotational minutes, and long-range shooting. When it comes to the latter category, Barnes notes that the Grizzlies connected on 35.6% on of their three-point attempts during the 2020/21 season, just the 20th-best percentage in the league.
- The Spurs have promoted chairman Peter J. Holt to a managing partner position, the team has announced in a statement. Holt’s father, Peter M. Holt, bought the franchise in 1996, and his mother, Julianna Hawn Holt, succeeded Peter M. Holt as company chairwoman from 2016-2019. In the same press release, the Spurs also announced that Austin billionaire Michael Dell and global investment firm Sixth Street have joined the club as strategic partners. Tom Orsborne of the San Antonio Express-News opines that adding Dell and Sixth Street strengthens the team’s long-term commitment to staying in San Antonio.
- Rockets head coach Stephen Silas spoke with Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle about how growing up around the NBA as the son of former player and coach Paul Silas informed his appreciation of the game. “Being Paul Silas’ son has always been great for me, and it obviously comes with challenges for me but I never shied away from that,” Stephen said.
Kyrie Irving Unavailable For Game 7, Return Possible Later In Playoffs
All-Star Nets point guard Kyrie Irving will officially miss Game 7 of Brooklyn’s second-round playoff series against the Bucks on Saturday, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.
Nets head coach Steve Nash said that Irving still has “some miles to make up” as he continues to treat a sprained right ankle that he incurred in the Nets’ Game 4 loss to Milwaukee.
Nash seemed hopeful that Irving would be able to return later in the playoffs, should the Nets move on, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. “It is not a season-threatening situation,” Nash said. Since Irving went down, the Nets are 1-2 in the series.
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie also remains sidelined, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Dinwiddie remains optimistic that his surgically-repaired ACL will be ready in time for him to also return in these playoffs, should the Nets advance. But James Harden, playing through hamstring tightness, was not listed on the club’s on official injury report.
Central Notes: LaVine, Turner, Cavaliers Draft, Sabonis
All-Star Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine appears intent to earn a maximum contract extension with Chicago, but whether or not that happens this summer will have a significant financial impact on the deal, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. A standard extension for LaVine this offseason could only be worth up to about $105MM over four years, so he seems unlikely to accept such a deal — Chicago could offer him significantly more in a renegotiation or once he reaches free agency.
“I definitely want what I deserve, and whatever that is I’ll have it coming to me,’’ LaVine said of a possible extension after the Bulls’ 2020/21 season concluded.
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes that LaVine’s fate this summer could be directly affected by the Bulls’ lottery luck. Should the team move into the top four in Tuesday’s lottery drawing ahead of the 2021 draft, it will be committed to paying at least $7.2MM to the rookie prospect it drafts. Depending on how some decisions shake out across the rest of Chicago’s roster, this will likely mean the Bulls, who have not made the playoffs in four seasons, will be operating over the salary cap, which would preclude a renegotiation with LaVine this season and make an extension less likely.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Pacers center Myles Turner weighed in on his perceived snub from the NBA’s All-Defensive teams this season, writes Nat Newell of the Indianapolis Star. Turner tweeted, in part, “Right back to it next season, [I’m going to] make it to where it ain’t even a debate.” Newell notes that all of the forwards who made the cut ahead of Turner played at least five more games than he did during a truncated 72-game season, where every appearance counts that much more. Newell observes that, in the last 20 years, the league leader in blocks has not made either All-Defensive team just six times — and Turner accounts for two of those omissions.
- A lot is riding on the Cavaliers landing some lottery luck, again, in the 2021 draft lottery next week, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Over the last two decades, Cleveland landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003, 2011, 2013, and 2014 drafts. The club hasn’t fared as well lately in the lottery, but is hoping its luck turns ahead of a starry draft.
- Pacers All-Star Domantas Sabonis proved he was one of the best big men in the league through his play this season, per Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. The 25-year-old deservedly made his second straight All-Star game, and boasted a sparkling stat line of 20.3 PPG (on 53.5% shooting from the floor), 12 RPG, and 6.7 APG. Hotchkiss highlights just how valuable Sabonis was on offense, both as a ball-handler and an expert pick-setter, and notes that Sabonis was often tasked with guarding players beyond the paint while Turner manned the middle, resulting in Sabonis traveling 2.7 miles a night on the floor, more than any other big man in the league. Sabonis will suit up for Team Lithuania during a six-game qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics, and potentially the Olympics themselves, before his focus returns to the NBA.