CJ McCollum Diagnosed With Collapsed Lung
Medical imaging has revealed that star guard CJ McCollum recently suffered a small collapsed right lung, the Pelicans announced in a press release. The team will assess him across the ensuing two days to evaluate his recovery and will issue an update after that 48-hour period.
The 6’3″ veteran had been enjoying a prolific start for the 4-2 Pelicans. Across his five games in 2023/24 so far, he had been averaging 21.7 PPG on .440/.380/.742 shooting, along with 5.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG and 0.8 BPG.
Injury issues sank New Orleans’ season last year. After initially emerging as one of the top clubs in the West, the team nosedived through the standings following major injuries to star forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Though both those players are currently healthy, McCollum joins a growing list of rotational guards and wings who are currently sidelined.
Point guard Jose Alvarado is still recovering from a right ankle sprain that he suffered right before the start of the season. Small forward Naji Marshall is set to be reassessed in two weeks as he works his way back from a knee issue. Wing Trey Murphy III will also be out for the foreseeable future as he continues to recuperate from surgery on a torn left meniscus.
Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Randle, Maxey, Oubre
All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum was initially frustrated at being selected by the Celtics in the 2017 draft, he admitted in a recent interview on NBC Sports Boston (Twitter video link).
“First of all, I didn’t even want to come because I didn’t think I was going to play,” Tatum said (hat tip to Jared Weiss of The Athletic for the transcription). “They had Gordon (Hayward), Jaylen Brown, Isaiah Thomas, and (Marcus) Smart, and I didn’t think I was good enough to be on that team. So, it didn’t even cross my mind how to close a game or how to finish. I was just more concerned about getting in the game and starting.”
It’s safe to say that he’s enjoying his time in Boston now. Still just 25, Tatum is already a five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection, and has helped lead the Celtics to the playoffs across all of his six pro seasons, including the 2022 NBA Finals. At 5-0, the new-look Celtics are already the only remaining undefeated team in the league and Tatum just became the youngest player in franchise history to reach 10,000 career points.
Tatum is currently in the midst of a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension that will see him remain under team control through 2024/25. He’s eligible to sign a new super-max extension next summer.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- It sounds like Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is out of excuses for All-Star power forward Julius Randle‘s current slump, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bondy noted that Thibodeau’s latest postgame remarks, following a Friday loss to the Bucks, were a bit harsher than usual. “You can’t predetermine,” Thibodeau said. “You can’t say, ‘Well, I haven’t had a shot, so now I’m gonna take a shot.’ The game tells you what to do… If you’re open, you shoot. If there’s three guys around, you hit the open man. It’s really simple. It’s not hard.” Through six games, the 6’8″ big man is averaging just 13.7 PPG on .271/.225/.618 shooting for the 2-4 Knicks.
- Although Tyrese Maxey is off to a stellar start, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse and reigning MVP Joel Embiid are hoping the rising guard will show more aggression in his offense, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s got to not get into those modes where he’s not being more aggressive,” Nurse said. “I’m not criticizing him. I’m just trying to keep imploring that needs to be more aggressive.” Embiid seems to feel similarly: “The key for him is just to be aggressive… and then let the game come to him. I think as the game went along, he let the game come to him, and made the right plays. He passed up a couple of shots that I think he should have taken.”
- New Sixers wing Kelly Oubre is also off to a red-hot start for Philadelphia, Pompey adds in a separate piece. Pompey refers to the Sixers’ signing of Oubre to a veteran’s minimum deal as perhaps the club’s best free agent deal in years. “I know that I’m very hungry to prove myself in this league,” Oubre said. “Obviously, you know this summer was very stressful to me for me. So I had a lot of pent up energy for this season already built up.” Across five contests, he’s averaging 21 PPG on .536/.448/.857 shooting, along with 4.0 RPG.
Northwest Notes: Porter, Camara, Kessler, Chet
The Grade 3 ankle strain Nuggets small forward Michael Porter Jr. incurred heading into the 2023/24 season remains an issue. Ported admits that his ankle is still less than 100% healed, estimating its recovery level at 75%, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. The 6’10” vet notes that he is dogged by soreness following games, but adds that it continues to improve.
Porter has remained productive regardless of his ankle’s health, averaging 15.0 PPG on .460/.380/.857 shooting. He’s also contributing 7.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 BPG and 0.6 SPG.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Trail Blazers rookie power forward Toumani Camara is emerging as a rotation staple at this early point of the season. Camara even started in the second half of Portland’s Friday win ahead of Matisse Thybulle, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets.
- Following a 115-113 loss to the Magic Thursday, second-year Jazz center Walker Kessler addressed his disappointing start to the season, Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. His numbers are down across the board from an All-Rookie 2022/23 campaign, and he’s struggling to control the ball as well as he did last year. “Yeah, you know, I think I gotta get back to just having fun,” Kessler said in addressing how he hopes to bounce back. “Because at the end of the day, it is a game. I’ve got to have fun competing and playing with my teammates and enjoy that, because that’s when I have my most productive games — when I’m trying to win and trying to have fun.”
- Warriors star forward Draymond Green was impressed by rookie Thunder center Chet Holmgren during Golden State’s 141-139 last-second win over Oklahoma City, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Chet’s a problem,” Green said. “He can play. He can dribble the ball, he can shoot the ball, has great length, is a great shot blocker. He’s only going to get better. For a young guy like that to have the feel that he has, you don’t see many mistakes out of him. And I thought that was big.” Through six games, the seven-footer is averaging 17.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.3 BPG and 1.0 SPG.
Sixers Trade James Harden To Clippers In Three-Team Deal
NOVEMBER 1: The trade is official, according to press releases from all three teams. The terms of the deal are as follows:
- Clippers acquire James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrusev.
- Sixers acquire Marcus Morris; Nicolas Batum; Robert Covington; Kenyon Martin Jr.; the Clippers’ 2028 first-round pick (unprotected); either the Rockets’ (top-four protected), Clippers’, or Thunder’s 2026 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable); the right to swap their own 2029 first-round pick with the Clippers’ 2029 first-round pick (top-three protected); a 2024 second-round pick (details below); the Clippers’ 2029 second-round pick; and cash ($2MM; from Clippers).
- Note: The 2024 second-round pick acquired by the Sixers will be either the Raptors’, Pacers’, Jazz’s, or Cavaliers’ pick, whichever is most favorable. If either the Jazz’s or Cavaliers’ pick is the most favorable, Philadelphia would instead receive the second-most favorable of the four.
- Thunder acquire the right to swap either their own 2027 first-round pick or the Nuggets’ 2027 first-round pick (top-five protected) for the Clippers’ 2027 first-round pick (unprotected) and cash ($1.1MM; from Clippers).
As expected, Danny Green was waived by the Sixers in order to make room for the incoming players.
Harden received the maximum portion of his trade bonus ($40,595) that he could while still making the deal legal for salary-matching purposes, Hoops Rumors has learned.
OCTOBER 31: The Sixers are shipping star guard James Harden to the Clippers, his latest destination of choice, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
According to Wojnarowski, Philadelphia is sending out Harden, veteran forward P.J. Tucker and rookie center Filip Petrusev to Los Angeles in exchange for forwards Kenyon Martin Jr., Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington, plus some significant future draft equity.
The 76ers will receive the Clippers’ 2028 unprotected first-round draft pick, two second-rounders and a 2029 pick swap, as well as an additional first-round pick. That extra first-round pick the Sixers are acquiring in the blockbuster deal is a 2026 first-rounder that had been controlled by the Thunder, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Thunder will receive a 2027 first-round pick swap from the Clippers in exchange for that 2026 first-rounder. Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports reports (via Twitter) that the 2026 first-round selection the Thunder are trading to Philadelphia will be the least favorable of the Clippers’ pick, OKC’s own pick, and Houston’s selection (top-four protected).
The two second-round picks the Clippers are trading to the Sixers are 2024 and 2029 selections, sources tell Wojnarowski. The ’29 pick will be Los Angeles’ own, but the Clips have already traded away their own 2024 second-round pick, so the other second-rounder in this deal will be one of two others that L.A. controls (one is Toronto’s pick; the other could be Indiana’s, Utah’s, or Cleveland’s).
Philadelphia wing Danny Green is being cut to create an open roster spot for the new additions from the Clippers, sources tell Wojnarowski. Green’s salary had only been partially guaranteed for $200K.
According to Wojnarowski, the Sixers and Clippers – who have had conversations about Harden for months – began talking again over the weekend following L.A.’s recent “pause” in negotiations, with Philadelphia recognizing it was becoming increasingly untenable to incorporate Harden back into its lineup.
This will bring the latest Harden trade request saga to a close. The 10-time All-Star opted into the final season of his current contract, worth $35.6MM, and immediately requested a trade rather than joining a new team in free agency. It was the third time in three years that he had sought a change of scenery via trade — he was originally dealt from Houston to Brooklyn in 2021, then from Brooklyn to Philadelphia in 2022.
Following his June trade request, Harden made some explosive comments over the summer about Sixers team president Daryl Morey, calling him a “liar” and saying he had no intention of being part of the same organization as Morey. When the NBA launched an investigation into those comments, Harden informed league investigators that he called Morey a liar because he told the former MVP he’d be traded “quickly” after he asked to be moved. The incident cost him $100K.
Harden skipped media day and the first day of training camp before reporting to the 76ers this fall. He participated in just one 5-on-5 scrimmage and no preseason games before leaving the team again for what was described as a personal matter, only to return after a 10-day absence. He has missed all of Philadelphia’s regular season games to this point as he continues to ramp up to game shape.
Harden struggled with injuries in 2022/23. Though the 34-year-old was clearly no longer in his athletic prime, he remained his prolific self while playing alongside eventual MVP Joel Embiid. Across 58 regular season contests, he averaged 21.0 points per game on .441/.385/.867 shooting, also contributing 10.7 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per night.
According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden is “ecstatic” to be joining the Clippers alongside fellow Southern California natives Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook. Los Angeles has long sought a play-making point guard who can stretch the floor alongside its two star forwards and will now insert Harden into that role for at least the 2023/24 season.
Harden is on an expiring contract and won’t become extension-eligible before reaching unrestricted free agency next July. Leonard, George, and Westbrook all have 2024/25 player options, so they could also hit the open market after the season if things don’t go well in L.A., though Leonard and George remain eligible to sign extensions before then.
Harden is hoping to fly to Los Angeles right away and there’s a chance he’ll attend the Clippers’ home game against Orlando on Tuesday, Shelburne adds, though it will likely still be a few days before he makes his debut for his new team.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Clippers will hang onto Petrusev, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic, though Tucker is in their plans.
While the Sixers won’t land Terance Mann – whose inclusion in the deal was long believed to be a sticking point – they’ll acquire four players on expiring contracts and get out from under Tucker’s 2024/25 player option, further increasing their cap flexibility for the summer of 2024. They project to have between $50-65MM in space next offseason, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The draft assets and expiring contracts the Sixers are acquiring from Los Angeles also put Philadelphia in position to make another pre-deadline trade to further reinforce its roster. The 76ers are expected to scour the trade market for another “high-level guard,” writes Wojnarowski.
The four players the Sixers are adding in this deal will be ineligible to have their salaries aggregated in a separate trade for the next two months, but could be flipped immediately as long as they’re not being combined with other players for salary-matching purposes.
Meanwhile, as Marks observes (via Twitter), Harden’s contract includes a $5.1MM trade bonus, which Philadelphia would be responsible for paying. However, based on the terms that have been reported so far, he would have to waive most or all of that bonus for the trade to be legal.
The Clippers’ projected luxury tax bill is projected to increase by approximately $29MM once the deal is finalized, Marks adds (via Twitter), while the Sixers’ projected tax bill will dip by $13.4MM.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Zion, Ingram, Valanciunas, Doncic, Grizzlies
Pelicans head coach Willie Green loves the fit of New Orleans’ star forward tandem, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
“Best freaking duo in the NBA,” Clark said. “They don’t talk about you enough. Best freaking duo in the NBA. You guys have to show up every night and be dominant.”
The fearsome twosome has been an interesting on-court fit, as Williamson thrives as a post threat, while Ingram’s more diverse scoring arsenal includes deft mid-range and three-point shooting.
“It’s what I believe about those two guys,” Green said. “Who they are as people. Who they are as basketball players. But we still have a lot of work to do. We will continue putting it together.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas is focused on the present in the final season of his current deal, Clark writes in another NOLA.com story. “I’m not thinking about that at all,” Valanciunas said of his contract situation. “Where the future is going to take me, it’s a mystery. But it’s funny that way. You don’t know what can happen tomorrow. You have to enjoy today. You have to enjoy this year. You have to enjoy every game you play. You just try to be the best version of you. That’s what my approach is.” Clark notes that the veteran seven-footer could be an awkward fit alongside Williamson long-term, as both players love to occupy the low post. Injuries have limited their on-court overlap, however, to just 29 games across two seasons.
- After the Mavericks’ 125-120 win over the Nets on Friday, All-NBA Dallas guard Luka Doncic revealed in a postgame ESPN interview (YouTube video link) that he still wants to play alongside former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith. “That’s my guy,” Doncic said. “I miss him so much and I know at some point we’re going to play [together] again for sure.” Finney-Smith was traded from the Mavericks to Brooklyn as part of the Kyrie Irving deal last season.
- With a growing list of absences, the Grizzlies’ current goal seems to be merely grinding their way to a respectable amount of wins until the club’s roster gets more whole, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. That has yet to happen, as the club is 0-3 to start the year. With Ja Morant suspended for 25 games to start the year, and big men Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke out with long-term injuries, Memphis has had to adjust quickly. Increased time has been allocated to newly-signed reserve guard Derrick Rose, while the Grizzlies are reportedly adding backup big man Bismack Biyombo to shore up their frontcourt.
Knicks Notes: Mitchell, DiVincenzo, Rest, Toppin
Appearing on “The Hoop Genius” podcast, former Knicks general manager Scott Perry suggested that New York didn’t view now-Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell as being quite good enough to be worth surrendering all of the team’s most valuable trade assets, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Perry explained the front office’s thinking at the time.
“Obviously we made a push to trade for him,” Perry said (hat tip to Bondy for the transcription). “But it was going to be done within reason. He was a good player but he needed more around him to win. Because if he was that singular force, Utah probably would’ve been in the conference finals if he were that singular force. … But he wasn’t that singular force. That’s not a criticism against him. That’s just an evaluation that you must make.”
“[Mitchell’s] an excellent basketball player,” Perry acknowledged. “Multi-year All-Star. Tremendous young man. New York kid… But you got to ask yourself, if the other team you’re trading with is wanting to take two-thirds or three-quarters of all your young talent, and all of your draft capital, is what’s left behind going to good enough for you to win rather than hold on to what you have and be a little patient?”
There’s more out of New York:
- Newly-signed Knicks swingman Donte DiVincenzo is getting comfortable with his new comrades, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I think in a weird way, it’s the third team in two seasons, if you will,” DiVincenzo said. “But this team, coaching staff, front office, everybody’s done a great job of making me feel like I’ve been on the team for a long time.” DiVincenzo was traded by the Bucks to the Kings midway through the 2021/22 season, and then signed with the Warriors for 2022/23 on a one-year deal. Through his first three games with New York, the shooting guard is averaging 7.0 PPG on .381/.308/.500 shooting splits, along with 3.0 RPG, 1.0 APG and 1.0 SPG.
- The Knicks opted to not rest anybody on the second night of an early-season back-to-back, writes Botte in a separate piece. New York fell 96-87 to the Pelicans on Saturday, in a turnover-heavy, inefficient shooting affair. “Less than 24 hours and a time change is kind of weird. Especially for the beginning of the season, but of course a little bit of fatigue today, but that’s not really any excuse at the end of the day,” small forward RJ Barrett said. “When we come out here, we gotta give our best effort and play our best game.”
- Former Knicks lottery pick Obi Toppin, who was traded to the Pacers in exchange for two second-round draft picks this summer, spoke to Bondy about his time in New York and his exit from the franchise. “It’s nothing personal,” Toppin said. “It’s just the business side of things. Obviously I was upset at times but you got to get past that.”
Community Shootaround: Finals, MVP, Rookie Of The Year Predictions
With opening night of the 2023/24 NBA season in the rearview, we at Hoops Rumors decided it was high time to delve into some predictions for how the rest of the year will unfold.
The East’s top two teams by record last year, the Celtics and Bucks, underwent some drastic personnel changes this summer, and have emerged as the two early favorites in Las Vegas. Boston’s new additions are top-lined by ex-Milwaukee All-Defensive guard Jrue Holiday and floor-stretching center Kristaps Porzingis, while the Bucks added superstar point guard Damian Lillard alongside perennial MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The reigning champion Nuggets remain the class of the Western Conference, boasting perhaps the most lethal offensive tandem in the league with superstar center Nikola Jokic and sharpshooting guard Jamal Murray.
Three Western Conference hopefuls who won playoff series last year — the Suns, Lakers, and Warriors — all underwent significant alterations to their own rosters in the hopes of toppling jumbo-sized Denver.
Phoenix offloaded two starters in Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, and brought in three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal, veteran big man Jusuf Nurkic, and some fresh depth to complement incumbent All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Paul was eventually re-routed to Golden State, where his veteran presence could help stabilize the turnover-prone Warriors. The Lakers made several tactical below-the-radar signings as they look to build on their surprise Western Conference Finals berth last spring.
Competitive Eastern Conference clubs like the Heat, Knicks, Sixers and Cavaliers seem to be a move or two away from true title contention. The Clippers certainly think they’re still contenders, but given their aging and injury-prone roster, the rest of the basketball world is dubious. Elsewhere in the West, young clubs like the Kings and Thunder hope to take a leap. The Grizzlies, who will be without their best player for the first 25 games of the year and have a frontcourt beset by long-term injuries, face an uphill battle to remain among the conference’s elite teams. When everyone’s available, they certainly have the talent to compete with anyone.
On the MVP front, the usual suspects like Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and the Warriors’ Stephen Curry seem likely to have an opportunity to add even more hardware to their collections (each has two apiece). Reigning MVP Joel Embiid‘s candidacy for a repeat performance may depend on how Philadelphia performs in its conference. Booker’s traction in this conversation may likewise hinge on how his new-look Suns mesh, though early signs are quite encouraging. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have a chance to nab their first such honor. All-NBA Heat swingman Jimmy Butler always seems to miss too much time to earn major consideration, but there’s no question he remains one of the league’s top talents.
The 2024 Rookie of the Year race is looking to be one of the most exciting in a while, fronted by two unique big men and a dynamite scoring guard. Superhuman Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, and lanky Oklahoma City big Chet Holmgren, the second pick in 2022 who has yet to make his regular season NBA debut, have already impressed in the preseason. Trail Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson looks to have the green light to score at will on a youth-oriented Portland roster.
Hornets forward Brandon Miller, Rockets guard Amen Thompson, and Pistons forward Ausar Thompson all are angling for a shot at that hardware, too. One caveat: Amen will be dealing with a crowded backcourt in Houston, and may not get as much run as the others.
We want to know what you think. Which clubs will face off in the 2024 Finals? And who will win? Who will earn this year’s MVP award? And which rookie in this starry class will rise above the rest, at least this year?
Take to the comments below with your thoughts!
Bucks Notes: Giannis, Thanasis, Griffin, Ownership
Although Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo just inked a lucrative contract extension, Milwaukee is still under pressure to deliver a title soon, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
The All-NBA forward’s fresh three-season extension, which could be worth up to $186.6MM, will keep him under team control through at least the 2026/27 season. Newly-added All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard has a $63.2MM player option for that year. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, has a player option for 2027/28.
Nehm notes that team president Jon Horst clearly is striving to deliver Antetokounmpo his second title with the Bucks, pointing to the trade for Lillard as proof that the front office is taking an aggressive team-building approach.
There’s more out of Milwaukee:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo credits big brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo, a reserve forward on Milwaukee, with helping to convince him to sign an extension this offseason, Nehm adds (Twitter link). “For me, signing is basically, as I said earlier, it wouldn’t make sense for me to sign it, but then I had a conversation with my family, a.k.a. GM TA [Thanasis], that it would make more sense for me to sign because I’d be able to — first of all, you don’t know what tomorrow holds — but that I’d have eligibility to re-sign in 2026,” Giannis said. “So I just kind of trust his thinking.”
- First-year Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin recently unpacked his revamped approach to the club’s defense during an interview with Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Griffin singles out ball pressure, paint protection with lots of help defense, contesting shots, and defensive rebounding as his key tenets.
- New Bucks co-owners Jimmy Haslam and Dee Haslam hope to help give the Bucks enough support to win more championships, Owczarski writes in a separate piece. “That desire to win is not just for us, although we’re incredibly competitive, but we also recognize how important it is for these communities to have a winning team,” Dee said. “That gets us excited to be part of that story.”
Mike Brown Talks Kings, Fox, Sabonis, Monk, Murray
Second-year Kings head coach Mike Brown is aware that the club is heading into the 2023/24 season with serious expectations for the first time in a good long while. As the reigning Coach of the Year tells Mike Scotto of HoopsHype in an extensive new interview, his team is hoping to improve on last season’s 48-34 record. Sacramento did secure the West’s No. 3 seed, but was ousted in a seven-game, first-round playoff slugfest by the Warriors.
“We’re a good team,” Brown said. “We established that narrative with our play last year and our connectivity and work throughout the summer. Now, we’ve got to continue building on that. We’ve got to go from good to great. Our expectations aren’t just to make the playoffs again. We know that’s who we are. Our expectations are to go from good to great and be an NBA champion, just like every other team out there, that’s competing as hard as we feel like we’re going to compete this year.”
The whole conversation is well worth reading in full. Below are just a few key highlights.
On winning his second Coach of the Year award in 2023:
“The reality to me is I have a fantastic staff, and you appreciate their work. At the end of the day, I recognize greatness, and I truly mean that our players stepped up, and everybody in the organization did too. I’m not just talking about my coaching staff. I have at least four or five guys on my staff right now who are ready to be head coaches. I’ve been saying that. I’ve tried to tell people about Jordi Fernandez. Others on my staff are ready to be head coaches right now.”
“I recognize how blessed, fortunate, and lucky I am to have not just a great coaching staff but a great medical staff, and a great performance and conditioning staff. I love the guys in the front office, ticket sales, community relations, and (COO) Matina Kolokotronis. To see the vertical and horizontal levels of trust we have with all the levels in the organization, in my opinion, showed itself in the best possible way with me being named the unanimous Coach of the Year because I know I didn’t do it by myself.”
On the chemistry between All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis:
“Those two guys have to continue taking leaps forward, but part of the reason why we brought so many guys back is because I firmly believe in order to have a winning culture at the highest level, you have to have a core of guys that you believe in and are able to play together year after year so that connectivity can grow to an insurmountable level. This is our first year of trying to bring our guys back to establish that core, so that means everybody we bring back has to elevate their game. Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes all have to elevate their game, especially knowing the way we like to play on both ends of the floor.”
On Malik Monk‘s shot at Sixth Man of the Year honors:
“He has a chance. Malik Monk is one of the most talented guys I’ve been around. He’s not 6-foot-7, but if he was, he’d be All-NBA. He’s that talented. It’s going to be up to him what he wants to be. I thought last year, coming in, his work ethic and his focus were pretty good. Just like how everyone else can help us improve internally to help us become a better team, Malik can, too. His talent level is there. Now, he’s got to be locked in 24/7, 365 days a year, when it comes to hoops. If he is, and he doesn’t take anything for granted, he’s in great shape and locked in by playing every possession, the sky’s the limit for him. He can shoot the three. He’s got a medium (mid-range) game. He’s one of the best I’ve seen in pick-and-rolls.”
On the growth of second-year forward Keegan Murray:
“If you think about it, last year, the way we played with our pace and our body and ball movement, he got a lot of his shots off the catch-and-shoot. Now, we expect Keegan to bring the ball up if he gets a rebound and initiate the offense, be a little selfish, and go get his shot, which you saw a couple of times throughout the preseason and when he played in Kings Summer League action in Sacramento. Not only that, but offensive rebounding. He’s worked hard on his body. Defensively, don’t get bullied… Be able to guard the ball in pick-and-roll situations. These are some areas, like going to get shots off the bounce that Keegan worked on that we’ve been fortunate to see throughout the offseason. Now, we expect him to do that come game time.”
Cavaliers Hiring Dave Joerger As Consultant
Longtime NBA coach Dave Joerger is signing on with the Cavaliers as a coaching consultant, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Charania adds that, next February, Joerger will also coach Team USA during the club’s upcoming FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers.
Joerger has worked in the NBA proper since 2007, when he joined the Grizzlies as an assistant coach under Marc Iavaroni. He was promoted to a head coaching role ahead of the 2013/14 season. Memphis fired Joerger in 2016, and he quickly moved on to a head gig with the Kings, where he served from 2016-19. Over his six seasons as a head coach, Joerger owns a 245-247 regular season record and a 9-13 playoff mark.
Most recently, Joerger was an assistant coach on the 76ers under Doc Rivers, from 2020-23.
Current Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff led the Cavs to a 51-31 record and the fourth seed in the East last season. The club was quickly excommunicated from the 2023 playoffs by the lower-seeded Knicks in a five-game first-round series.