Clippers Hire Tyronn Lue As Top Assistant On Doc Rivers’ Staff
The Clippers and Tyronn Lue have agreed on a deal that will make the coach Doc Rivers‘ lead assistant, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. It was recently reported that the team was closing in on a deal with Lue.
Lue was the frontrunner for the Lakers head coaching gig just months ago. Contract talks between Lue and the Lakers reportedly broke down, and the club ultimately hired Frank Vogel to replace Luke Walton.
Lue previously coached on Rivers’ staff, serving as an assistant during stints with the Celtics and Clippers before he made his way to Cleveland, where he won a title as a head coach.
A report in May indicated that the Pelicans and Rockets had expressed interest in hiring Lue as an assistant and that he had turned down offers to join NBA coaching staffs since being let go by the Cavs last fall.
Lue has a record of 128-83 as a head coach with all of his experience coming during LeBron James‘ second era in Cleveland. Now, Lue and James will again share a workplace, albeit in much different circumstances as the two Los Angeles gear up to compete against each other in the Western Conference.
Examining The Heat’s Two-Way Contract Situation
The Heat have yet to utilize either of their two-way contracts slots, making them one of three rosters not to feature this type of deal (Raptors, Rockets). Jeremiah Martin, Chris Silva, and Kyle Alexander are each under Exhibit 10 contracts, and it’s plausible that the team will end up converting up to two of the three into two-way deals at some point before the season.
Two-way contracts, which allow players to split time between the NBA and the G League, were implemented during the 2017 season and there has been numerous instances where the players under these deals make an impact for their NBA squad. Quinn Cook (Warriors), Tyrone Wallace (Clippers), and Danuel House (Rockets) are among the players who have contributed to their respective team’s success.
Martin, Silva, and Alexander each suited up for the Miami’s summer league team in Las Vegas and each had impressive stints for the squad, which is why the franchise plans on bringing the trio to camp. Each will likely play for the team’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, should they not receive a two-way deal.
Examine Miami’s roster and its easy to find a need for additional depth. James Johnson, Dion Waiters, and Goran Dragic are among the players to miss extensive time with injuries last season. Kelly Olynyk is already nursing a knee injury that forced him to pull out of the World Cup and while the team brought back Udonis Haslem to man the 15th roster spot, the power forward hasn’t played more than 130 total minutes in a season since the Obama administration was in office.
Hitting on two-way players is critical for this team, as it will help mitigate the risk of sliding down the standings in the event of injuries and back-end of the roster ineffectiveness. The franchise only needs to look back at last season to such occurrences.
Miami’s salary cap situation makes its two-way contract slots even more crucial. The franchise sits less than $1MM below the apron, which represents a hard cap at as a result of the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade. While many teams will have the ability to tinker with the back end of the rotation and replace players with guaranteed contracts who don’t fit. Miami has no such luxury; the organization had no margin for error here.
The Heat could ostensibly make moves, such as releasing Kendrick Nunn, whose contract is non-guaranteed, in order to make another addition to the official roster. It could also waive any guaranteed contract it wants without making an addition. However, those, like many of the paths for Miami to add talent, appears unlikely.
Two-way contracts do not count against the salary cap, though they allow players under these deal to spend up to 45 days in the NBA. Whether it’s a pair from the Silva/Martin/Alexander trio or other players who end up with those deals, Miami may need production from these spots even if it’s only a total of 90 days of NBA service.
Team USA Notes: Fox, White, Mitchell, Tucker
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com was surprised when De’Aaron Fox pulled out of international competition, as he explains in a collaborate piece with ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Leading up to Fox’s departure, many reports had him as one of the best players at Team USA’s functions and Windhorst writes that Fox would have been a lock to make the team.
Here’s more from the ESPN piece as well as other notes concerning Team USA:
- Did Fox leave because he was worried that coach Gregg Popovich would select Spurs guard Derrick White over him? Windhorst doesn’t believe so. White may make the team but it’ll be because of his exceptional play rather than any preferential treatment.
- Donovan Mitchell has been the most impressive player at USA Basketball functions, Youngmisuk contends (same piece). Mitchell is treating the FIBA World Cup as not just an opportunity to win the tournament but to advance his game and position himself for a roster spot on next year’s Olympics team.
- P.J. Tucker, who recently dropped out of competition for USA Basketball, was a near-lock to make the roster, as Kelly Iko of The Athletic relays. Team USA Teammate Khris Middleton was surprised that the veteran decided to leave the team. “Yeah, we were very surprised,” Middleton said. “But, you know, P.J. is a great player. A tough guy, a vet, that’s been around this league, been around this world, and is experienced. He’s a tough player.”
Hoops Rumors Originals: 8/10/19 – 8/17/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- Luke Adams analyzed how players who turned down player options fared in free agency this offseason. He found a number of players who made the right move.
- Adams broke down with players are going to be free agents next offseason by team and made a list of notable big men on the free agent market right now.
- In honor of Magic Johnson’s 60th birthday (and the NBA legend’s Twitter feed), we made a list of the top 60 players heading into the 2019/20 season.
- We outlined some of the key dates and deadlines this NBA preseason.
- Dana Guaruder asked whether the Pistons should offer Andre Drummond an extension in one Community Shootaround discussion and started a conversation about the NBA schedule changes in another.
- In an additional Community Shootaround, we asked how DeMarcus Cousins‘ injury will impact the Lakers.
- We asked which team is going to win the Southeast Division next season. As of this writing, over 40% of Hoops Rumors readers believe it will be the Heat.
- Roughly a third of Hoops Rumors readers who answered our poll on the Northwest Division believe the Nuggets will again take the division crown.
- Adams detailed the 2019 draft-and-stash signings and chronicled which teams claimed players off of waivers so far during the 2019/20 league year.
- Which players have trade kickers in 2019/20? Adams listed each player along with the percentage of salary amounts of each trade kicker.
- The Spurs have appeared in 22 straight postseasons. In a Community Shootaround, Arthur Hill asked whether the team will make it 23 in a row.
- Which NBA clubs have a G League affiliate? We provided the answer.
Pacific Notes: Booker, Lakers, Kuzma
Devin Booker is in the first year of five-year, $158 million extension, which would signal that he’s the Suns‘ franchise player. Yet, could Phoenix end up trading the shooting guard? Former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox recently speculated that Booker could be one of the big names on the move in the future (as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays).
Wilcox was speculating on which players would be moved soon (the former GM named Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala), later in the season (Kevin Love and Bradley Beal), and in the future (Booker and Andrew Wiggins).
Booker was selected by the Suns in the 2015 draft and Phoenix hasn’t made the playoff since he arrived in town, something the franchise desperately wants to change. Still, it’s likely the Suns will ride it out with the Kentucky product for the foreseeable future, though I’d speculate that the team could fetch a sizable return for Booker should they ever make him available on the trade market.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- ESPN’s Tim Bontemps examined the Lakers‘ schedule and believes the team will have a strong start to the season (via The Jump). The scribe explains how Los Angeles’ schedule is back-loaded with marquee games that are expected to be challenging.
- Kyle Kuzma expects to compete for a starting spot on the Lakers but ultimately, he’s happy to contribute in whatever role the team needs, as Shams Charania of The Athletic writes. “Bench, whatever, I’m still going to get my game off regardless,” Kuzma said. “…My mindset develops every single day being around guys, having a relationship with LeBron. That gives me more confidence, the wisdom that he gives. Being around Magic Johnson and Kobe. Everybody. It grows and grows, matures and creates that mindset that defines you.”
- While Kuzma is willing to come off the bench, he pictures himself as the third star on the team. “My motivation is there to be that third guy,” Kuzma said (via Charania in the same piece). “For the simple fact that playing with LeBron, with AD, I got high dreams for myself to do some pretty special things in my career. So that’s motivation in itself. It’s a testament to my work ethic and laying down the groundwork for my past two years being in the league.”
Lakers Sign Demetrius Jackson To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Lakers have signed Demetrius Jackson, according to a team press release. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link) hears that the arrangement is an Exhibit 10 deal.
Jackson was selected with the 45th overall pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of Notre Dame. The point guard began his NBA career in Boston, though he only saw five games of action for the Celtics during his rookie season.
Jackson spent time in Houston and Philadelphia as well as the G League since his rookie campaign. The 24-year-old will look to make the Lakers’ roster, although it’s more likely that he’ll play for the team’s G League squad, the South Bay Lakers, next season.
The Lakers now have a full 20-man offseason roster.
Community Shootaround: Top 60 NBA Players Heading Into 2019/20
Magic Johnson turns 60 this week and he’s celebrating the milestone by unleashing a bevy of top-60 lists on Twitter (it’s truly a blessing that the NBA legend stepped away from his Lakers role in order to tweet freely). In honor of Johnson’s birthday, I’ve put together a top-60 list, ranking NBA players heading into next season.
The list is based on recent production as well as projections for the upcoming season. Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Jusuf Nurkic all would have easily made the top 60, but the trio was kept out due to their respective injuries and uncertain return dates.
Here are my top 60 players heading into the 2019/20 campaign:
60. Steven Adams (Thunder)
59. Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz)
58. Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
57. Andre Drummond (Pistons)
56. Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
55. Otto Porter Jr. (Bulls)
54. Julius Randle (Knicks)
53. Zach LaVine (Bulls)
52. Zion Williamson (Pelicans)
51. Brook Lopez (Bucks)
Where do we place Zion Williamson before he officially steps on an NBA court? He could immediately showcase the talent that made him one of best prospects in recent memory or he could come in the league with a bit of learning curve and struggle to live up to the loftiest of expectations.
Sandwiching Williamson between Brook Lopez, who’s proven to be valuable in today’s game. and Zach LaVine, who had an underrated 2018/19 campaign and is still building on his own game, seems like the best way to balance the risk vs. reward in Zion’s debut season.
50. Buddy Hield (Kings)
49. John Collins (Hawks)
48. Justise Winslow (Heat)
47. Kevin Love (Cavs)
46. Eric Bledsoe (Bucks)
46. Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
45. Lauri Markkanen (Bulls)
44. Clint Capela (Rockets)
43. Myles Turner (Pacers)
42. Kyle Kuzma (Lakers)
41. DeMar DeRozan (Spurs)
Jamal Murray improved his game over his first three seasons in the league, parlaying his time in Denver into a five-year, $171MM extension. Further improvement will be needed to justify this ranking (and the extension), though he’ll have the opportunity to do just that as he looks to help Denver navigate through a loaded Western Conference.
40. Chris Paul (Thunder)
39. Kristaps Porzingis (Mavericks)
38. Tobias Harris (Sixers)
37. Khris Middleton (Bucks)
36. Devin Booker (Suns)
35. D’Angelo Russell (Warriors)
34. Al Horford (Sixers)
33. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
32. CJ McCollum (Blazers)
31. Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford out of Boston, Jayson Tatum is expected to see an expanded role in a system that he knows well. He has a polished game and with the added opportunity, it would be an upset if he’s not in the All-Star conversation next season.
30. Jrue Holiday (Pelicans)
29. Pascal Siakam (Raptors)
28. Danilo Gallinari (Thunder)
27. Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
26. Draymond Green (Warriors)
25. LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs)
24. De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
23. Victor Oladipo (Pacers)
22. Mike Conley (Jazz)
21. Ben Simmons (Sixers)
Simmons, like Murray, received a massive extension this offseason and he’ll need to further improve on his game to make the $171MM deal a team-friendly arrangement. Yet, that’s the kind of upside the 23-year-old possesses. Simmons could easily find his way onto numerous All-NBA teams throughout the deal and it wouldn’t be shocking if his first anointment comes at the end of 2019/20 season.
20. Nikola Vucevic (Magic)
19. Blake Griffin (Pistons)
18. Bradley Beal (Wizards)
17. Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
16. Kemba Walker (Celtics)
15. Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves)
14. Russell Westbrook (Rockets)
13. Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
12. Jimmy Butler (Heat)
11. Kyrie Irving (Nets)
Rudy Gobert‘s ranking might seem high, especially after he was snubbed during last season’s All-Star selections, though he’s a defensive force that’s unmatched by anyone in the league. He was fourth in NBA Math’s Total Points Added, a metric which measures the impact a player has on the court and he could be the defensive presence that allows the Jazz to integrate their new parts and become one of the best teams in basketball next season.
10. Paul George (Clippers)
9. Damian Lillard (Blazers)
8. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
7. Joel Embiid (Sixers)
6. Anthony Davis (Lakers)
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
4. James Harden (Rockets)
3. Stephen Curry (Warriors)
2. LeBron James (Lakers)
1. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
The top of this list could go a number of ways. Which NBA players do you think should be in the top five? Are there any players on this list who are badly misplaced?
Take to the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!
Josh Richardson Talks Trade To Sixers, New Role
After four seasons in Miami, Josh Richardson finds himself on a new team. The shooting guard was shocked when he first heard about the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade that sent him to Philadelphia. However, after digesting the news, he became excited for the new opportunity, as Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
“I mean once it happened and I started looking at everything, it was smooth,” Richardson said. “I got excited once I saw our roster that we’re going to be working with, and I think we’ve got a good chance to come out of the East. And I’m excited to be able to go and play for a contender.”
While Miami appears to be a lock for the playoffs this upcoming season, the Sixers have positioned themselves to make the NBA Finals. Adding Richardson and Al Horford to go with incumbent starters Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris arguably gives Philadelphia the best starting five in the league.
Richardson saw an increase in field goal attempts in each of his four seasons in Miami with last year’s 14.1 shots per game representing his career high. The shooting guard understands that he may see fewer attempts on his new team, but he’s not worried about being deemed the fifth option in Philadelphia.
“It’s not really like that — one through five — that makes no sense,” Richardson said. “It’s not like a certain amount of touches every game. But being able to play with so much talent, it’s exciting. You can’t give one guy too much attention because you have four other guys that can hurt you just as much. Being able to play with guys like Ben and Jo, Tobias, Al is just, I don’t know, I’m excited.”
Michael Beasley Leaning Toward Playing In China?
Michael Beasley remains on the free agent market and his NBA stock took a hit when it was announced that he’ll receive a five-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. With the suspension looming, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link) hears that Beasley is leaning toward playing in China this upcoming season.
Beasley has an offer worth approximately $5M from a Chinese team, Goodman writes. While the scribe doesn’t provide additional details, it’s almost certainly a team in the Chinese Basketball Association.
The veteran forward has had multiple stints in the CBA, with the most recent one coming late last season, after he was traded by the Lakers and released by the Clippers. He finished the season with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, the eventual CBA champions.
After being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft, Beasley spent just two seasons with the Heat. He was sent to Minnesota as Miami needed cap space to form The Heatles. He returned to the Heat in 2013 after making a pit stop in Phoenix. Since then, he has played for the Rockets, Bucks, Knicks, and Lakers.
World Cup Notes: Team USA, White, Young
Head coach Gregg Popovich is strongly considering taking 15 players to Australia later this month in advance of the World Cup as opposed to cutting the roster down to a dozen players prior to leaving the country, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. FIBA regulations state that teams can only carry 12 players for the World Cup itself, though the remaining players could simply attend alongside the coaching staff and never suit up.
Here’s more surrounding the World Cup:
- Spurs guard Derrick White and Kings big man Marvin Bagley III are the strongest contenders to be promoted from the Select Team to Team USA’s primary World Cup roster, tweets Stein. Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher suggests (via Instagram) that White’s promotion has already happened, while Bagley’s is likely.
- Mitchell Robinson is dealing with a knee injury, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The Knicks center initially suffered the injury over the weekend and returned to practice on Tuesday and re-injured it the following day. A source close to the situation describes the ailment as “just soreness.”
- Hawks guard Trae Young left Team USA’s training camp because of a minor eye infection, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Young had been practicing with the Select Team.
- Chris Boucher has withdrawn from the World Cup for personal reasons, Josh Lewenberg of the TSN tweets. The Raptors big man had been practicing with Canada’s National Team.