Heat Notes: Vincent, Game 6, Robinson, Nuggets’ Scouting
Gabe Vincent remains questionable for Saturday’s Game 6 with a sprained left ankle, but he appears to have solidified his long-term future with the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Vincent, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has been indispensable for Miami in the playoffs. He’s the team’s third-leading scorer in the postseason at 13.1 PPG and is shooting better than 50% on pull-up threes during the Eastern Conference Finals.
Chiang points out that it has taken a lot of patience for Vincent to reach his current role, as he started the season as a reserve, missed eight games due to injury in December and didn’t enter the starting lineup until February. Although he’s likely to have several suitors in free agency, the Heat may see him as their starting point guard for the foreseeable future, especially with Kyle Lowry‘s contract expiring after next season. No matter where he ends up, Vincent can expect a hefty increase on his current $1.8MM salary.
“You never know when or where your opportunity will come,” Vincent said. “All you can try to do is try to be ready for it, whether it’s work in the dark or film, just trying to stay prepared, knowing that there’s other facets of my game that I may not have been able to show at this level based on the opportunity provided. And when it was, I just try to take advantage and most importantly help my team win.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Vincent was a partial participant in the Heat’s shootaround Saturday morning, according to Chiang. The expectation is that he’ll try to play tonight, but a final decision won’t be made until closer to game time. Miami was ineffective without Vincent in Game 5, falling behind early and losing by 13 points at Boston.
- With the Celtics aggressively contesting his three-point attempts, Duncan Robinson has been able to create easy two-point opportunities by dribbling into open space, Chiang adds. He has also become a better finisher in the lane, shooting 11-of-12 from there in the series. “I feel like this is the best player I’ve been in my entire career just because that’s how development works,” he said. “You continue to improve and get better.”
- As the Nuggets prepare for both potential opponents in the NBA Finals, Denver coach Michael Malone sees a resemblance between the Heat and his own team in their ability to get contributions from a variety of players, according to Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “But when I look at (the Heat), I kind of see a lot of similarities between them and us,” Malone said. People talk about Jimmy (Butler), and Bam (Adebayo) was an All-Star, but to me they have guys stepping up every night.”
Knicks Notes: Randle, Barrett, Hart, Quickley, D. Rose
The Knicks will listen to trade offers this summer for Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, but they won’t be eager to move either player unless they get a major star in return, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News says in a discussion of the team’s offseason plans with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Randle is coming off an All-NBA regular season, but he was disappointing in the playoffs for the second time in three years, although an ankle injury contributed to that. Scotto doesn’t believe other teams value him as highly as New York’s front office does, but Bondy questions whether Randle is an effective leader for the Knicks now that they’ve seemingly established themselves as a consistent playoff team. Begley notes that Randle has a personal connection with senior executive William Wesley and team president Leon Rose and states that management won’t try to deal him just because of a disappointing postseason.
Begley points out that some members of the front office were willing to send Barrett to Utah in last summer’s negotiations for Donovan Mitchell, so he’s likely to be made available again if the right deal comes along. Bondy believes any team talking about trading a star player to the Knicks would have to decide whether it would prefer Randle or Barrett in return.
There’s more on the Knicks from that conversation:
- Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns have been mentioned as potential trade targets, but the three writers are skeptical that either deal will happen this summer. Scotto notes that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey doesn’t like to trade star players unless he’s getting another one in return and suggests that the Heat look like a better option if Philadelphia ever decides to part with Embiid. Bondy points out that the Towns rumors have been around for a long time, and while he heard two years ago that coach Tom Thibodeau wouldn’t be opposed to a reunion with the Timberwolves big man, things might have changed since then.
- Thibodeau’s affection for free agent Josh Hart and his CAA connections could help push his next contract into the range of $18MM per year, Scotto adds. He cites a consensus among attendees at last week’s draft combine that Hart plans to re-sign with New York.
- Immanuel Quickley raised his value with a season that saw him finish second in the Sixth Man of the Year balloting, and his extension could be worth $80MM to possibly $100MM over four years, according to Scotto. Bondy cautions that the Knicks will have to be careful about how much they pay Quickley with big-money deals for Jalen Brunson, Randle, Barrett and likely Hart already in place.
- The Bulls seem like a natural destination for Derrick Rose, whose $15.6MM team option for next season is unlikely to be picked up, Scotto states. Begley also mentions the Bucks, who were rumored to have interest in Rose during the season.
Gabe Vincent Listed As Out For Game 5
Miami will have to try to close out the Eastern Conference Finals Thursday night without Gabe Vincent, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Heat guard will miss Game 5 due to a sprained left ankle, sources tell Charania.
Vincent suffered the injury late in Tuesday’s game when he landed awkwardly after a jump shot. He had been listed as questionable to play tonight, but the ankle apparently hasn’t recovered enough after a full day of treatment.
The impending free agent has been an important contributor for Miami throughout the playoffs, starting all 15 games so far and averaging 13.1 points and 4.1 assists per night. Vincent poured in a career-high 29 points and connected on 6-of-9 three-point attempts in a Game 3 victory.
The Heat are already shorthanded in the backcourt as Tyler Herro remains sidelined with a broken right hand and Victor Oladipo is out with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. The loss of Vincent leaves Kyle Lowry as the only natural point guard in Miami’s playoff rotation.
If Boston wins tonight, Vincent will have two more days to recover before Game 6, which would take place Saturday in Miami.
International Notes: Wembanyama, Darlan, Schröder, Yao
Victor Wembanyama‘s overwhelming popularity is creating a lot of new basketball fans in France, writes Sam Borden of ESPN. Borden notes that it has long been a “niche sport,” far behind soccer in the French sporting landscape, but Wembanyama has been drawing massive crowds, especially as his time in the French league nears its end.
Nearly 16,000 people attended his most recent game in Accor Arena — the largest venue in Paris, which has been hosting Metropolitans 92 games in light of Wembanyama’s celebrity status — and tickets were selling for hundreds of dollars on the resale market. The Wembanyama phenomenon figures to create a huge crop of new NBA fans in France when he begins playing for the Spurs in the fall.
“We’ve had this traditional setup in France — you are going to play the sport your dad played, or the sport he watches,” said Maxime Raynaud, who plays at Stanford. “And so for the past 100 years, everyone just picked up a soccer ball. Now, we have access to basketball. We have role models for basketball. And Victor is going to be the face of that.”
Wembanyama has a crucial playoff game today as his team’s best-of-three series with Cholet is tied at 1-1. Beyond winning an LNB Pro A title and making an impact in the NBA, he has his eyes on the 2024 Olympics, which will take place in Paris.
“My goal,” he said, “is to beat Team USA in the final.”
There’s more international news to pass along:
- After officially signing with G League Ignite, Thierry Darlan hopes to prove that Africa can produce NBA-level guards as well as big men, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Darlan hails from the Central African Republic and graduated from the NBA Academy Africa. “When they talk about basketball in Africa, they always talk about the center, the big,” Darlan said. “It’s a big challenge to change that to talking about (a) point guard. In Africa, we’re not just known to run the floor and get rebounds. We can do many things, too. We can pass the ball. Create for others. That is my mission to show that African players can do more.”
- Lakers guard Dennis Schröder, who is entering free agency, said he plans to play for Germany this summer in the FIBA World Cup, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
- Hall of Famer Yao Ming has stepped down as head of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to an Associated Press report. No official explanation was given, but the league has been plagued by allegations of corruption, including match fixing.
“Handshake Deal” For Kyrie Irving In Dallas?
Representatives of rival teams at last week’s NBA Draft Combine expect Kyrie Irving to re-sign with the Mavericks this summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Dallas missed the playoffs after acquiring Irving from Brooklyn in a February trade and he often appeared to be an awkward fit alongside Luka Doncic, but sources tell Pincus that the Mavs didn’t trade for Irving as a short-term experiment.
“I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade,” one of Pincus’ sources said. “And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.”
Irving will be eligible for a new five-year contract in Dallas that could be worth $272MM, Pincus adds. Although he was an All-Star this season for the 10th time in his career, off-court incidents in Brooklyn — and Boston and Cleveland before that — may limit the number of teams interested in signing him.
“I’m not sure what the market is for Kyrie, but no one with cap room is giving it to Kyrie,” another source told Pincus. “He comes with too much drama.”
Pincus talked to an agent who expects Irving to receive a four-year deal with a player option on the final season. It would be worth about $201MM in guaranteed money and would line up with Doncic, who can opt out of his current contract in 2026.
In an appearance Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up,” Brian Windhorst suggested that the Lakers shouldn’t be dismissed as a possible Irving suitor (video link). L.A. was reportedly interested in Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he submitted a trade request to the Nets in February.
Windhorst admits the Lakers would have to give up most of the assets they just acquired in order to sign Irving outright, but he says the landscape could be more favorable if Dallas would agree to a sign-and-trade. Regardless, Windhorst added that it helps Irving’s negotiating position if he can convince the Mavericks that L.A. is interested.
Pincus also talked with several sources who expect Dallas to be a potential landing spot for Suns center Deandre Ayton, who shares an agent with Doncic.
“The Suns need depth,” a source told Pincus. “I can see them getting Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale (McGee) back, Josh Green and No. 10 (draft pick). Phoenix would probably flip the pick to another team for depth, or maybe it’d be a big multi-team deal.”
Pincus lists Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Reggie Bullock and Jaden Hardy as other players who might be moved in a hypothetical Ayton trade, but he notes that Kleber is among Doncic’s best friends on the team, which gives Dallas incentive to keep him.
Lakers Notes: Russell, Game 4, Strategy, Injuries
For all the adjustments Lakers coach Darvin Ham has made in the playoffs, he has remained committed to keeping D’Angelo Russell in his starting lineup, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Russell has been a starter since he was acquired from the Timberwolves in February, and Ham indicated that he’s likely to remain in that role even though he hasn’t played well in the first three games against Denver.
“Sometimes the greatest adjustment is just to play better,” Ham said at Sunday’s practice. “Play harder. Play better. Sometimes that’s the most key adjustment. It’s funny, (how) it’s almost becoming cliché. (People say), ‘What’s your adjustments, adjustments, adjustments?’ Sometimes you go in there, and you take a long, hard look at the film to clean up what you need to clean up, and you try to do what you’re doing better.”
Russell is averaging 7.0 PPG in the Western Conference Finals while shooting 29.6% from the field and 14.3% from three-point range. The Nuggets are also targeting him on defense to get easy scoring opportunities. While a recent report indicated the Lakers are concerned about the possible long-term effects of taking away Russell’s starting job, Ham said he still believes in his point guard, who was effective in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“We know he can make those shots,” Ham said. “So the biggest thing is not to get depressed, not to get down, continue to be aggressive, continue to be assertive, and eventually that ball will go in.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Facing the nearly impossible task of winning a playoff series after falling behind 3-0, the Lakers have narrowed their focus to just getting a victory Monday night, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Historically, NBA teams with that deficit are 0-149, but Ham doesn’t want his players to believe the situation is hopeless. “We’re alive, man. The series is not over,” he said. “… The only thing we have to do is just focus on one game. We don’t have to be overwhelmed about the outside noise or the overall series. We just have to worry about one game, what’s exactly in front of us.”
- The Lakers may want to use Jarred Vanderbilt or another tall defender to slow down Jamal Murray, who has strung together two 37-point games, suggests Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt offers a few other strategy recommendations, including larger roles in the offense for LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
- James (right foot stress injury) and Anthony Davis (right foot soreness) are the only names on the Lakers’ injury report for Game 4 and they’re both listed as probable, Turner tweets.
Heat Notes: Vincent, Robinson, Love, Motivation, Herro
The Heat were ready when the Celtics started throwing double teams at Jimmy Butler on Sunday night, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Although the strategy was effective in slowing down Butler, who was limited to 16 points after coming into the game averaging 31.1 PPG in the playoffs, it created open opportunities for his teammates.
Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points while shooting 11-of-14 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range. Duncan Robinson hit 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and contributed 22 points off the bench as Miami connected at 54.3% on three-pointers during the game.
“We’ve been dealing with this for a little bit, not just in the postseason,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of the double teams on Butler. “There were a handful of key games going down the stretch where teams were committed to trying to take the ball out of his hands. So that gave us some things to work on during the regular season.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Kevin Love didn’t return to Sunday’s game after leaving midway through the first quarter with a left ankle injury, Chiang adds. He was back on the bench in uniform and warmed up for the second half, but Spoelstra decided not to risk putting him on the court with a commanding lead. “He says he’s fine,” Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “He was a little bit, like, scared about it. He said he probably could have gone in in the second half, but I just wanted to re-evaluate. We were up 15. I was like, all right, let’s make sure we know what’s going on.”
- The Heat entered the series determined to get revenge on the Celtics for beating them in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Miami is motivated by the memory of its Game 7 loss when Butler’s late three-point attempt bounced off the rim. “I just think that we got the matchup we wanted,” Caleb Martin said. “We got to see the team who took us out last year. … We are playing like we have something to prove.”
- Tyler Herro, who had surgery after breaking two fingers on his shooting hand in Miami’s playoff opener five weeks ago, had his brace removed, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Herro still hasn’t been medically cleared to resume shooting.
Carmelo Anthony Announces Retirement
Carmelo Anthony has retired from the NBA after 19 seasons, making the announcement on Monday in a video (Twitter link).
The 38-year-old forward was a 10-time All-Star and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. He ranks ninth on the career scoring list with 28,289 points in 1,260 career games with the Nuggets, Knicks, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers and Lakers.
“Now the time has come for me to say goodbye,” Anthony said in the video. “To the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride.”
Anthony remained unsigned this season after averaging 13.3 PPG in 69 games with L.A. in 2021/22. There was a rumor in February that Kevin Durant and Chris Paul might lobby the Suns to add him as a veteran off the bench, but nothing was ever worked out. He also reportedly drew interest from teams in Taiwan last November, but wasn’t willing to play there.
The Hall of Fame will likely be the next stop for Anthony, who was selected with the third pick by Denver in the 2003 draft after winning a national championship in his lone season at Syracuse. He played eight seasons with the Nuggets before moving on to New York, where he captured the league’s scoring title in 2013.
In addition to his NBA accomplishments, Anthony leaves behind a strong legacy in international competition. He appeared in four Olympics, winning three gold medals and a bronze, and represented Team USA in the World Championship and Americas Championship as well.
Anthony will serve as one of three global ambassadors for this year’s FIBA World Cup.
Joe Mazzulla In Jeopardy After Game 3 Loss?
The Celtics‘ embarrassing Game 3 loss to Miami could lead to significant changes this offseason, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Boston entered the conference finals as the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title, but the team didn’t look anything like a champion in Sunday’s 128-102 defeat. The Heat seized control of the game late in the first quarter and led by as many as 33 points before the night was over.
The most obvious questions center on the future of head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has been overmatched by Heat mentor Erik Spoelstra in the series. Windhorst states that Mazzulla seemed well-positioned to return for another season before Game 3, but the Celtics’ lifeless performance makes his job much less safe.
Mazzulla accepted blame for the loss, repeatedly telling reporters, “I just didn’t have them ready to play,” and adding, “I have to get them in a better place ready to play, and that’s on me.”
Windhorst believes Mazzulla went too far in trying to protect his players with his post-game comments, stating that they were so “over-the-top” that they came off as “transparent.”
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens remains a strong supporter of Mazzulla, Windhorst adds. Stevens selected Mazzulla to run the team after Ime Udoka was suspended last fall and then appointed him as permanent head coach in midseason.
However, Windhorst cites a “rising expectation” that Mazzulla will become the fall guy for the disastrous playoff ending it appears the Celtics are headed toward. He was given an undisclosed contract extension when the “interim” was removed from his title in February, but the organization may decide that a 34-year-old with no prior head coaching experience isn’t the right person to run a team with championship aspirations.
The recent firings of high-profile coaches such as Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse and Doc Rivers, who have all led teams to titles, may make Mazzulla’s future even more tenuous.
Boston also has to determine this summer whether to give Jaylen Brown an extension worth more than $280MM that he qualified for by earning All-NBA honors. Brown has been particularly bad against Miami, shooting 2-of-20 from three-point range, including an 0-of-7 performance Sunday night.
Windhorst states that questions are re-emerging about whether Brown and Jayson Tatum should be the foundation of the team. It will eventually cost the Celtics more than $50MM apiece annually to keep them together, and the front office has to determine whether that’s the best pairing for the future.
Barring an unprecedented turnaround, the Celtics will enter the offseason haunted by the feeling that the team wasn’t prepared for the Game 3 challenge and quit when things got tough. Another loss Tuesday night could set the direction for a summer upheaval.
Pacific Notes: Paul, DeRozan, Myers, Vezenkov
The Suns‘ reported plans to fully guarantee Chris Paul‘s contract for next season don’t ensure that he’ll remain with the team, writes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. The veteran point guard’s $30.8MM salary for 2023/24 only carries a $15.8MM guarantee, and the front office must make its decision by June 28.
Bourguet argues that guaranteeing the deal before that date will make Paul easier to trade. He also wonders whether the rumor that the Suns’ “mindset” to have him as their starting point guard next season was leaked by the team ahead of trade talks or by Paul’s camp to make him more attractive to teams that might be interested in acquiring him.
At age 38, Paul is coming off another disappointing playoff exit that was related to injuries. This time, he suffered a left groin strain in Game 2 of the conference semifinals against the Nuggets that sidelined him for the rest of the series. Bourguet hears that Paul likely would have been able to play if the series had reached a seventh game, but Denver closed it out with a convincing victory in Game 6.
“That was the tough part about the injury, when, before he got hurt, you could just see the offense starting to figure out a few things,” former head coach Monty Williams said. “And then he comes up with an injury that he can’t control.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Bulls star and Los Angeles native DeMar DeRozan has gotten past the feeling that he needs to return home to play for the Clippers or Lakers someday, he said in an appearance on Paul George‘s podcast (hat tip to All Clippers). “I used to feel like that,” DeRozan said. “I used to think like, man I gotta play home so I could see what it’s like. It’s like I get it from both ways now. From home, and I’m able to represent home from where I’m playing. I’m at a stage now where I’m okay now if I don’t. It’s not like an ultimate desire of mine.” George admitted that he tried to recruit DeRozan to the Clippers as a free agent two years ago, but it wasn’t financially feasible.
- As Bob Myers ponders his future, sources tell C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle that the contract the Warriors offered would make him the highest-paid general manager in the NBA. Holmes also confirms that Myers is expected to talk to the media next week after spending this week at the draft combine in Chicago.
- As he arrived in Lithuania for the Final Four, EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov didn’t address his NBA future, but he showed that he has been following the Kings, who own his rights, per a EuroHoops story. “In the playoffs, they did their best, but they were facing a superstar like Steph Curry,” Vezenkov said. “The competition in the NBA is really hard, there are so many superstars and ultimately only one gets the rings. However, the Kings had a great season.”