Bucks Notes: Giannis, Lillard, Green, Olympics
The Bucks are listing Giannis Antetokounmpo as doubtful on the team’s official injury report due to a left calf strain, making it unlikely that he’ll be available for Sunday’s series opener with Indiana.
Antetokounmpo was held out of practice this week as he recovers from the injury he suffered in an April 9 game. He participated in a walkthrough on Friday, but didn’t do anything more physical, coach Doc Rivers told Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel.
Antetokounmpo was given a two- to four-week prognosis after the injury occurred, and Owczarski notes that Game 2 of the series will mark exactly 14 days. Game 3 will be 17 days away and Game 4 will be 19, while a potential Game 7 would take place May 4, giving Antetokounmpo three-and-a-half weeks to recover.
Milwaukee was 4-5 without Antetokounmpo this season, including a pair of losses last weekend that dropped the team into the No. 3 seed.
There’s more on the Bucks:
- Damian Lillard had planned to practice Tuesday as he works his way back from an aggravated Achilles tendon and an irritated adductor muscle, Owczarski adds, but Lillard said the medical staff’s decision to hold him out helped him to be a full participant Friday. Lillard underwent imaging to check the extent of the damage to both areas before returning to the court. “After that it was just like we got a week to get right, to get ready and that was kind of the focus,” he said. “I didn’t want to go out there with my pride or doing anything unnecessary. That was kind of the plan.”
- A.J. Green isn’t on the injured list after spraining his left ankle in an April 10 game. Rivers tells Owczarski that Green was able to do “most things” at Friday’s practice, but Malik Beasley and Khris Middleton will see extended minutes if Green isn’t able to play. “We have to keep shooting on the floor,” Rivers said. “But A.J. has not only been good offensively, I think he’s been very good defensively. I think he’s been one of our guard rebounders as well. I mean, obviously we would love him to play. He looked good today.”
- Lillard said he was contacted by Team USA about another Olympics appearance, but he wasn’t willing to make a commitment, Owczarski states in the same piece. Lillard wanted to concentrate on what he hopes will be a long playoff run with the Bucks, and he was reluctant to be away from his family for most of the summer. “I never committed to it and I was also never like, ‘I don’t want to go,'” Lillard said. “So, the roster I think they got a full roster now, so I’m not offended by it at all.”
- In a separate story, Lillard tells Owczarski that rumors that he’s dissatisfied in his first year with the Bucks are inaccurate. “I saw somebody say ‘Dame is not happy in Milwaukee’ or something like that,” Lillard said. “I know the truth. I love the situation that I’m in. I also know what I have going on outside of basketball going on that kind of drains me at times. People are going to make comments. People are going to say things. And if it doesn’t go the way they said it was going to go, nobody is ever (going to) come to them and say ‘All right, you said this. Now what do you have to say about it?’ They are never held accountable for what they say publicly.”
Arturas Karnisovas Admits Changes Are Necessary In Chicago
After watching his team get eliminated in the play-in round for the second straight season, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas promised that changes are coming, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Addressing reporters today in the wake of Friday’s loss at Miami, Karnisovas sounded ready for a major roster shake-up.
“I’ve said numerous times today: This group, something doesn’t work. I have to find ways to find a group that’s going to make improvements. We’ve done it for a couple years now and it hasn’t worked,” Karnisovas said. “Everything is on the table. I am going to look at totality of the group. This group hasn’t worked. There’s a lot of great things in certain individual players and a lot of young guys who took a step forward and it’s positive. But in totality as a group, it didn’t work. So I’m going to have to find these answers in offseason.”
Presumably that will start with Zach LaVine, whom the team tried to move last fall before injuries derailed his season. Multiple outlets have reported that Karnisovas will make another attempt this summer to find a taker for LaVine, who has three years and about $138MM left on his contract, including a nearly $49MM player option for 2026/27.
Although Karnisovas emphasized the need for change at today’s press conference, Johnson states that he repeated his commitment to re-sign free agents DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams. A source tells Johnson that the team recently offered DeRozan a two-year extension in the neighborhood of $40MM per season. DeRozan reportedly wants a longer deal, but Johnson suggests that could just be a negotiating tactic.
“DeMar’s been great for us for three years,” Karnisovas said. “He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys. So both sides are interested in continuing and we’ll see what happens in free agency.”
Johnson notes that giving new contracts to DeRozan and Williams without trading LaVine means the Bulls would start next season in luxury tax territory. Karnisovas expressed a willingness to pay the tax, but only for a contender, which heightens the need to move LaVine’s contract.
“My approach looking at the luxury tax is if you can prove that your team is going to be in the top four, you go in the luxury tax,” he said. “It just makes no sense to be in play-in if you’re going to be in the luxury tax. As long as I can put a team together that is going to be competing top four in the East, that’s when you start look at retaining guys and go in the luxury tax.”
Karnisovas also addressed the status of Lonzo Ball, saying the organization will monitor his progress during the offseason, but he’s had no setbacks so far in his latest attempt to return from knee issues that have sidelined him since January of 2022. While Karnisovas didn’t address the possibility, Johnson points out that the Bulls stand to receive $21MM in cap relief if Ball can’t return and an independent doctor declares the injury to be career-ending.
Karnisovas said there’s no plan to replace coach head coach Billy Donovan, who is fresh off an extension and recently stated that he’s not interested in returning to college coaching when his name was floated as a possibility for Kentucky. Although Karnisovas remains loyal to Donovan, Johnson speculates there could be some changes to his staff.
“I like what Billy has done here the last four years. Billy is someone you build a program with,” Karnisovas said. “He’s a very good coach and even a better human being. We established a winning expectation, we defined a profile for the Bulls player and we put an emphasis on player development. It is also on me to facilitate Billy with the resources he needs to build a team that can be successful consistently.”
Jimmy Butler Suffers MCL Injury
APRIL 18, 3:46pm: Butler has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and won’t be available for Friday’s play-in game, according to Heat PR (Twitter link). As was reported this morning, he’s expected to be out multiple weeks, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rozier has also been ruled out for Friday’s play-in game with his neck injury.
APRIL 18, 8:15am: There’s now an expectation that Butler will be out for multiple weeks, according to Charania (Twitter link). That means he’d likely miss some or all of the first round of the playoffs even if Miami wins on Friday.
APRIL 17: There are concerns that Heat forward Jimmy Butler may have suffered an MCL injury in his right knee, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Butler told reporters after tonight’s play-in loss at Philadelphia that he plans to undergo an MRI on Thursday morning to learn the extent of the damage, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler had a protective sleeve on the knee after the game and said he was having difficulty moving.
The initial diagnosis is a knee sprain, but the MRI will provide more clarity, Chiang adds (Twitter link). Butler needed help walking as he left the arena after tonight’s game (video link from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports).
Butler played nearly 40 minutes and contributed 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals in Miami’s 105-104 loss, though he shot just 5-of-18 from the field. The Heat will host Chicago in an elimination game Friday night, and Butler’s status appears to be in doubt regardless of the MRI results.
When asked about his knee, Butler responded, “It had me feeling that I couldn’t do too much,” tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel.
Butler fell to the court and grabbed his knee in pain late in the first quarter, Chiang writes in a full story. After Kelly Oubre jumped on a pump fake, he landed on Butler and they both crashed to the floor. Butler remained down for a few minutes and limped to Miami’s bench. He was able to stay in the game, but he continued to limp and occasionally grabbed at the knee.
Although Friday’s contest will be at home, the Heat face a difficult path with the potential of an extended absence for Butler combined with the loss of Terry Rozier, who is sidelined with neck spasms. Friday’s winner will face the top-seeded Celtics in a series that starts Sunday afternoon.
Warriors Notes: Thompson, Kuminga, Wiggins, Payton, Looney
Klay Thompson wasn’t ready to talk about free agency after Tuesday’s play-in loss at Sacramento, but it’s a topic that will dominate the Warriors‘ offseason, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Asked about his plans at a post-game press conference, Thompson reminded reporters that it’s only April 17 and a lot can happen by the start of July.
Although Thompson mostly avoided the subject, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr were vocal about the need to bring him back. Thompson appreciates the support after all they’ve accomplished together.
“It means a lot,” Thompson said. “I mean, we’ve been through the highest of highs and lows. Whether it’s losing a championship, winning a championship, missing the playoffs, we’ve been through everything together, so that does mean a lot. It makes me grateful to have the times I’ve had with them. Like, that was pretty historic stuff.”
A source told Andrews that having a chance to win will be Thompson’s priority as he considers his next contract. His preference is to remain with Golden State, and Andrews expects that he will if the team finds a way to show its appreciation for his years of service.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- At today’s exit interviews, Jonathan Kuminga seemed surprised when he was asked about a potential rookie scale extension this summer, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kuminga said he’ll let his agent handle extension talks, but added, “I love it here.” Kuminga also got a question about his mid-season meeting with Kerr in which he expressed dismay about a lack of playing time. “Sometimes people don’t know you if you don’t speak,” Kuminga said. “Sometimes people don’t know what’s going on in your mind if you don’t actually get to see it. I don’t know what’s going on in my coaches’ mind if I don’t get to ask them questions, and questions is communication.”
- Slater notes that Golden State explored trades involving Andrew Wiggins before the deadline and is likely to try again this summer after the worst offensive season of his career. It could be tough to find a taker with three years and $85MM left on his contract, and Wiggins preferred to avoid trade speculation. “I take care of what I can take care of,” he said. “What’s out of my control, I don’t worry about it. All I can do is work hard, train hard and do what I can do.”
- Gary Payton II was frustrated to miss the play-in loss with a calf strain, Slater adds. Payton has a $9.1MM player option for next season, and he hinted that he would like to use that as a springboard for a long-term contract. “I would love to come back and run it back,” Payton said. “Better yet, just redo my whole deal and stay here for a little bit longer. We’ll figure it out.”
- Slater suggests the Warriors might part with Kevon Looney, who only has a $3MM guarantee on his $8MM salary for next season. Looney indicated that he prefers to stay with Golden State, but acknowledged that the decision is out of his hands. “When you don’t make the playoffs, you lose, stuff usually happens,” he said. “So I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I should be prepared for the next step.”
Central Notes: Mitchell, Lillard, Dosunmu, Drummond, Fontecchio
After missing 16 of the Cavaliers‘ final 26 games due to pain in his left knee, Donovan Mitchell said Wednesday that he’s “100 percent,” writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Mitchell had a platelet-rich plasma injection in the knee and was given plenty of rest as the team’s medical staff monitored his condition to prepare him for the postseason.
Withers notes that the injury affected Mitchell’s movement, as his usual explosiveness and quick change of direction were missing for weeks. A recent 33-point game against Indiana seemed to be a sign that he’s getting back to normal, and Mitchell said he’s ready to carry the playoff scoring load.
“That is just expected of me,” he said. “That’s who I am to myself, who everybody’s expecting me to be. But at the end of the day, I set my own personal goals and this is one of them. It just happens to align with everybody else’s expectations, too. I mean, I put that on me, and I’m not worried about that. I prepped for these moments. My teammates believe in me, and I believe in myself. Now I can sit here and say about this is all I want, but I got to go out there and do it.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Bucks guard Damian Lillard returned to practice today after sitting out Tuesday due to left adductor pain that started over the weekend, according to an Associated Press story. Lillard did some shooting and “all of the walk-through stuff,” according to coach Doc Rivers, who hopes to have him more active when practice resumes Friday. Milwaukee was 1-8 without Lillard this season.
- Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu, who has been dealing with a bruised quad, was cleared to play and is in the starting lineup for tonight’s game with Atlanta, tweets KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Reserve center Andre Drummond, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, is also active (Twitter link).
- Simone Fontecchio expects to return to the Pistons next season and said he’s become more familiar with coach Monty Williams’ approach to the game, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit News (Twitter link). “I’m a restricted free agent, so most likely I’m going to be here,” Fontecchio said. “That’s good because being here the last two months, I understand Monty’s system and what his philosophy is and how we play. I’m definitely going to work this offseason knowing what my role is going to be.”
Raptors Notes: Poeltl, Olynyk, Quickley, Barnes, Porter
The Raptors expected to win a lot more than 25 games this season, but there’s more optimism than disappointment as players look to the future, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. While a series of injuries led to a nosedive after the All-Star break, there’s a feeling that things will be different with a chance to start over this fall.
“I think for sure there’s a lot of things to be excited about,” said Jakob Poeltl, who missed the final 21 games with a dislocated finger. “You could see that at times when we had our guys out there on the court — we really had limited time playing together — but still it felt good, and it looked good, and the results were there. And I don’t think those were outliers; it was more that almost all of the losses were more of the outliers than when we were actually performing.
“So that gives you a lot of confidence. That gives me a lot of hope looking forward to next season, to be able to show that more and to be able to show that from an overall talent perspective I don’t think we are where we’re supposed to be in the standings. To be able to show that will be cool.”
Grange notes that the team went through a major upheaval in the middle of the season, as seven players were traded away within six weeks, including franchise cornerstones Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. In addition to Poeltl, Scottie Barnes and Chris Boucher also suffered season-ending injuries, while the deaths of relatives took RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley away from the team for a while.
“The dominos just fell,” said Kelly Olynyk, who was acquired from Utah at the trade deadline. “Injury, injury, injury, obviously, personal stuff that you can’t discount, guys having to be away from the team, that was a tough stretch there.”
There’s more from Toronto:
- Quickley sounds eager to re-sign with the Raptors in free agency this summer, Grange adds. The 24-year-old guard averaged a career-best 18.6 PPG after being acquired from New York in late December. “I’ve absolutely loved Toronto since the day I got here,” Quickley said. “They’ve done nothing but show me love. Love is an action word. It’s not just something you just throw around. They’ve done that from the day I got here to today. So obviously the team and my agent have to handle everything, but I love being here in Toronto absolutely.” The Raptors can make Quickley a restricted free agent by submitting an $8.5MM qualifying offer.
- The most encouraging thing to come from Toronto’s season was the progress of Barnes, who reached a new level before a broken finger put him out of action on March 1, observes Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “I played against Scottie when I was younger,” Barrett said. “But seeing it up close and personal every day, it’s amazing what he does. He does everything.”
- The Raptors issued a statement after the NBA announced Jontay Porter‘s lifetime ban for his involvement in a gambling scandal, Lewenberg tweets. “The Raptors are fully supportive of the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA and are grateful for the swift resolution to this investigation,” it reads. “We will continue to cooperate with all ongoing inquiries.”
Heat Notes: D. Robinson, Love, Rozier, Jovic, Adebayo
Duncan Robinson has been dealing with a back issue for several weeks, but he’s been cleared for the Heat’s play-in game tonight at Philadelphia, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The team’s medical staff made the decision after watching Robinson in warm-ups, and coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed it in a pregame session with reporters.
“He’s ready to go,” Spoelstra said. “It definitely won’t be what he was doing earlier in the season, that’s for sure. But it’s pretty simple right now – the rotation is the rotation. It’s all hands on deck.”
Kevin Love will also be available after missing the second half of Sunday’s game with an arm contusion. Love, who had also been dealing with an ankle injury, explained that the decision on Sunday was just a precaution.
“Arm’s not an issue, ankle’s not an issue,” he said. “I’m ready to go. So turn the page on the regular season and now we’ve got some work to do. … We were up 21 at half, so it just made sense for me to focus on this. But I feel good and I think that extra day helped.”
There’s more on the Heat:
- Terry Rozier didn’t travel with the team to Philadelphia after missing the last four games of the regular season with neck spasms, Winderman adds. Team officials aren’t certain when Rozier might be able to return. “He’s been making a lot of progress,” Spoelstra said. “He’s not ready to play in an NBA playoff-level game right now. But I’m encouraged, we’re encouraged. I feel for him. He’s such a competitor. I know how badly he wants to be out here for these kind of moments that I’m talking about. But we’ll continue to treat him and see how he feels.”
- Nikola Jovic only logged 13 total postseason minutes during Miami’s run to the Finals last season, but he’ll have a much larger role this time around, Winderman states in a separate story. The second-year power forward has claimed a spot in the starting lineup, bringing more versatility to the Heat’s frontcourt. “This is his opportunity,” Bam Adebayo said. “He’s being aggressive. He’s figuring out how to space the floor, how to cut, really read the game. It’s one of those things, you get enough minutes, that game starts to slow down for you. And I feel like it’s slowed down for him a lot. He’s making it hard not to play him. He sets the tone every night. He makes plays. He makes the right play. He gives those extra efforts that we need.”
- Adebayo’s selection to the U.S. Olympic team gives him the chance to become the first player to win multiple gold medals as a member of the Heat, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo captured gold in Tokyo in 2021.
Clippers Notes: Leonard, Harden, Playoffs, Brown
Kawhi Leonard‘s status remains uncertain, but coach Tyronn Lue is preparing for him to be ready when the Clippers open their first-round series with Dallas on Sunday, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard, who missed the last eight games of the regular season due to inflammation in his right knee, hasn’t played since March 31.
Before today’s practice, Lue told reporters that the medical staff would determine how much Leonard would be permitted to do during the session. Team doctors were also monitoring Leonard to see how his knee responded after taking part in a quarter of Tuesday’s practice.
Lue added that Leonard is making progress, but there’s still not a set timetable for his return.
“Letting medical take over, and whatever is the best thing for Kawhi, making sure you protect him first,” Lue said. “But whatever is best for him is what we’re going to do. Not sure of the minutes yet, or how long he’ll be able to play. So we just kind of wait and take it day by day.”
There’s more on the Clippers:
- James Harden is confident that he’ll be ready for the playoff opener after missing three of the team’s last four games with inflammation in his right foot, Youngmisuk adds. Harden is hoping to change his playoff reputation in L.A. after a recent history of sub-par performances. “I mean I always want to play well in the playoffs,” Harden said. “I’ve had some not great games, but I have some really good games. So for me, I think the goal is to win, and that’s the only thing that I’m missing at the highest level as far as my NBA career. Of course, I want to play well individually and then I want our team to play well. So I think it’s my job as one of the leaders on this team is to make sure our guys are fulfilling their potential and maximizing what they bring to our team to the best of their ability, game by game.”
- Harden expects everyone to be more focused now that the playoffs have arrived and wasn’t bothered that Lue called the team “soft” a few weeks ago (video link from Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints). “We’re still a fairly new group,” he said. “… For me, I think it’s just not getting bored with the game, find ways to keep getting better, even when you feel like it’s a tough game or opponent might not be as good, you might not feel the best. … Now we’re locked in on one opponent.”
- Kobe Brown is looking forward to his first NBA postseason, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register, who talked to Brown after last Friday’s game when the Clippers returned to the locker room to find thick scouting reports on the Mavericks on their chairs. “I’m really excited to see what it’s like,” Brown said. “We already got the playoff scouting report or whatever it is. Big packet that I’ve never had before. It’s going to be fun, exciting … I want to see how far we go. Hopefully, we can win it all. It will be fun.”
Suns Sign Grayson Allen To Four-Year, $70MM Extension
APRIL 16: Allen’s contract extension is official, the Suns announced today in a press release.
“Grayson embodies our values and we are committed to him being a key member of our core as we continue to build together into the future,” Suns president of basketball operations James Jones said in a statement. “He has been outstanding for us this season, leading the league in three-point shooting while providing a versatile skillset and competitive spirit on both ends of the floor. Phoenix has become a home for Grayson and his family, and we are thrilled that they want to be part of this community and our winning culture for years to come.”
“I love being in Phoenix and believe in what we can achieve here,” Allen added in a statement of his own. “Thank you to Mat Ishbia and the organization for embracing me. I’m excited to make a long-term commitment to remain in this community and continue building with this team.”
APRIL 15: Grayson Allen has agreed to a four-year, $70MM extension with the Suns, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The deal, which includes a player option for the final season, was confirmed to Wojnarowski by Allen’s agents, Mitch Nathan, Aaron Mintz and Steven Heumann of CAA Basketball.
Allen has thrived in his first year in Phoenix, becoming the NBA’s leader in three-point shooting percentage this season at 46.1%. He also reached career highs by averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 33.5 minutes per game while making 73 starts.
Wojnarowski notes that the new contract will continue to escalate the Suns’ tax bill, which has exploded since Mat Ishbia bought the team midway through last season. Allen will make $15.6MM next season, pushing the team’s projected payroll to $206MM. That will result in an estimated $104MM in luxury tax payments, which would be the highest figure in the league.
Phoenix is currently projected to exceed the second apron by $16MM in 2024/25, Woj adds, triggering the most severe restrictions under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Suns won’t be permitted to send out cash in trades, aggregate contracts or make use of a preexisting trade exception. They also won’t be able to trade their 2032 first-round pick if they finish next season above the second apron.
Allen had been headed for unrestricted free agency this summer, so the agreement locks up an important part of the Suns’ offense for at least three more seasons. With Phoenix already well above the salary cap, the team would have faced few options for replacing Allen if he had signed elsewhere.
The 28-year-old guard had bounced around the league since being selected by Utah with the 21st pick in the 2018 draft. The Suns were his fourth team in six years when they acquired him last summer as part of the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee. Allen had been a starter for the Bucks the past two seasons, but he was able to fully unlock his game on a Phoenix team where he’s surrounded by elite scorers in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 4/16/2024
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11 a.m. Central time (noon Eastern).