Eastern Notes: Wizards, Dragic, Davis
Sashi Brown, who previously led the NFL’s Cleveland Browns but will now work within the Wizards‘ new-look front office, admits that it will take some time to transition to the NBA, though he sees opportunity to add value, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports passes along.
“I think that if you’re relying on winning to develop your culture you probably don’t have a very good culture,” Brown said. “It really has to be the driver for winning. That’s what we’re going to do. We’ve got guys that are experienced and passionate that will hold the entire organization accountable.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Goran Dragic was nearly traded this offseason and that might suggest that his days on the Heat are numbered but Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel sees it differently. The scribe envisions Dragic playing better in 2019/20 and suggests that the best move for both parties would be to sign a one-year deal at the end of the season, as the Heat are financially gearing up for the summer of 2021 in order to chase star free agents.
- The Hornets may have to choose between Malik Monk and Nicolas Batum as they decide who will be in their starting lineup, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. The decision could come down to whether the team is planning on competing this season or investing in their young prospects.
- Anthony Davis, who is from Chicago, called the city the “Mecca of basketball,” as The Chicago Tribune passes along. Davis added that he’d consider joining the Bulls at some point in the future if it made sense to do so.
Celtics Become 26th Franchise To Fully Own G League Team
The Celtics have an agreement in place to buy the Maine Red Claws, their G League affiliate, as the team announced today.
“Over the years, the G League and the Red Claws have become increasingly important to the Celtics and our player development efforts. We look forward to deepening both our ties with basketball operations and within the community, and further bringing the Celtics experience to fans in Maine,” said Team President Rich Gotham.
There are 28 teams in the G League and after this move, only two franchises do not wholly own their affiliate, as 2 Ways & 10 Days highlights on Twitter.
The Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) and Pistons (Grand Rapid Drive) have “hybrid” affiliations with their respective G League clubs, meaning they manage and fund the basketball operations while local ownership maintains the control of the business and its community relations, as the G League details on its website.
The Red Claws played their first game in 2009 and are located in Portland, Maine. The team was previously owned by Maine Basketball, LLC.
Thunder Waive Donte Grantham
The Thunder have waived Donte Grantham, according to Brett Dawson of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 6’8″ small forward had been on a two-way contract with the franchise.
Grantham appeared in three NBA contests for the Thunder last season, hoisting up two shots but failing to make either attempt. He played in 34 G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue, where he averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
After waiving Grantham, the team now has one two-way contract slot available. Luguentz Dort is currently OKC’s other two-way player.
Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Coaching Additions, Bradley
Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman makes a case for the Thunder to trade Chris Paul to the Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins. Paul would elevate the team’s immediate ceiling in Minnesota, providing Karl-Anthony Towns with arguably the best point guard he’s played with at the professional level.
Tramel believes OKC may provide Wiggins with an environment that would allow him to improve. Wiggins has played under four head coaches in Minnesota and the organization doesn’t have the recent track record for developing players that OKC does.
Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder have named David Akinyooye, Dave Bliss, Mark Daigneault, Brian Keefe, and Mike Wilks as assistant coaches, the team announces on its website. The group will join head coach Billy Donovan and assistant coaches Maurice Cheeks and Vin Bhavnani on the bench.
- The Timberwolves are close to adding Pelicans assistant Kevin Hanson to their coaching staff, as Chris Hine of the Star Tribune reports. Hanson spent the past four seasons in New Orleans.
- Tony Bradley, who was selected in the 2017 draft, had a Summer League that saved his roster spot on the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic explains. Third-year first-rounders don’t typically play in the Summer League and the front office told the center that it wanted to see him be the best player on the team. Bradley shined and will be the third center behind Rudy Gobert and Ed Davis.
Mavericks Sign Boban Marjanovic
JULY 23: The Mavericks have officially signed Marjanovic, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
JULY 3: The Mavericks will sign Boban Marjanovic, sources tell Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that the deal will be for two years and $7MM.
Marjanovic, who is entering his age-31 season, averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 58 games (11.7 MPG) last season, with his 7’3″ frame allowing him to dominate certain matchups while struggling in others.
Marjanovic was traded to the Sixers in the Tobias Harris deal at this past season’s trade deadline. Philadelphia owned his Bird rights but needed to renounce his cap hold ($13.3MM) in order to accommodate the Al Horford signing.
Dallas has been active thus far in free agency, reaching a four-year deal with Seth Curry and re-signing many of their own guys. Dallas is also rumored to be in the mix for veteran Danny Green.
The Mavs’ projected cap room (upwards of $23MM) may not be impacted by their deal with Marjanovic, since he could theoretically fit within their room exception, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Primed To Be OKC’s Point Guard Of The Future
Much attention has been given to all the picks that the Clippers sent to the Thunder in the Paul George trade, but the franchise also received Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in addition to Danilo Gallinari. While the Italian forward has just one season left on his deal, Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to remain with the franchise long-term and become the point guard of the future in Oklahoma City.
The 6’6″ point guard won’t yet take the reins of the franchise, as future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul remains on the roster. Whenever the Thunder decided to let SGA lead the team, he should be able to handle that role. He has believers both in the professional and collegiate levels. One former executive told Hoops Rumors that SGA was the more valuable than any player or asset among the presumed Anthony Davis contenders (Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, Knicks) earlier in the summer, topping the polished Jayson Tatum.
During the point guard’s lone season at Kentucky, coach John Calipari could see the potential in Gilgeous-Alexander, whose mother ran the 400-meter race for Canada at the 1992 Olympics. Calipari knew he was going to make it to the NBA.
“I looked at our [players] and said, ‘You guys know who’s the best in practice? Who comes every day? Who brings it? He does,’” Calipari said (via The Athletic’s Brett Dawson ). “I told them, ‘You know what? He’s making himself a lottery pick.’”
Calipari has coached several star point guards. Derrick Rose played under the coach at Memphis. John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, and De’Aaron Fox are among the point guards to play under Calipari at Kentucky.
The latest Kentucky team made it to the Sweet 16 despite a lack of outside shooting. “By the end, he had just taken over the team,” Calipari said. “We won the games we won because of him.”
The Clippers didn’t get the opportunity to draft Gilgeous-Alexander, as the Hornets took him at No. 11. Los Angeles had to put a package together to acquire his draft rights. Calipari had spoken to Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell before the event, raving about SGA. “He’s the one,” Calipari told Cassell. “He’s the one in this draft.”
Gilgeous-Alexander had a strong rookie season in Los Angeles, playing a meaningful role for a team that overachieved and made the playoffs. SGA’s success didn’t shock those who had spent time with him.
“There was no real big learning curve for him when he went to the NBA, because he’d already been approaching everything as if he was a professional,” Kentucky’s assistant coach Joel Justus said.
“He was on time, he was early for class, he paid attention, he was respectful of everyone around the university, he was engaging with fans. Everything you see in guys that are successful at being a basketball player, on and off the floor, he had a very good grasp of before he even came to us.”
The Thunder’s rebuild is just beginning. With several veterans on the roster, the team could spend the 2019/20 competing for a playoff spot and SGA’s role as the leader of the team may have to wait. Regardless, Gilgeous-Alexander will be part of the future in Oklahoma City.
“If you’re gonna do what they’re gonna do, it’s gonna be about culture,” Calipari said. “It’s gonna be about, how quickly can these young guys create an environment that is gonna help us succeed — how we’re gonna play and how we’re gonna work and all that stuff. That’s what this is. That’s what he did for us.”
Karl-Anthony Towns Talks Changes In Minnesota, False Narratives Off The Court
The NBA has seen its share of power moves by players in the last year. Kawhi Leonard joined the Clippers this offseason while angling for the Paul George trade. Anthony Davis, who shares an agent with LeBron James, demanded a trade with eyes for the Lakers and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving reportedly began their planning to team up long ago.
Many have speculated that Karl-Anthony Towns could the next player in a small market to leverage his way to a new destination. Towns hears the noise and says he isn’t swayed by the glamour of a bigger city.
“Game is game. Basketball is basketball,” Towns said (via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic). “Competition is competition. It don’t matter where you at,” Towns said. “All of us were raised, regardless of where we’re at, playing in the park, playing in hot box rec gyms. You were competing. It don’t matter if you’re in Milwaukee, in Minnesota. It doesn’t matter if you’re in L.A. or New York, competition is competition. You have to come ready to play and kick some ass.
“That’s how I approach it. I’m not afraid to play anywhere. I don’t care about where it’s at, who it’s against. I’m going to go out there and compete and try my best.”
New president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas has made it clear that the team is building around Towns as its star. Coach Ryan Saunders, who served in an interim capacity last season, has a close relationship with the center and that was part of the reason Saunders was awarded the full-time job.
“I’m here. That’s the answer. That’s the best answer I can give you,” Towns said. “I’m here. I’m actually in Minnesota.”
A year ago, Tom Thibodeau was still running the show in Minnesota. Towns was entering the final season of his rookie deal and Jimmy Butler was seen by some as the leader of the team. Towns had his concerns about the franchise then, Krawczynski writes. He steered clear of the off-court turmoil surrounding Butler and Thibodeau, instead, focusing on the game.
“I go out there to do my job and do it better than everybody in this league. That’s what my focus is,” Towns said. “I’m not here to be a show.”
Towns is entering the first season of five-year, $190MM max deal. He missed out on roughly $32MM by not making an All-NBA team this past season, though he doesn’t dwell on last year’s results.
“It’s a great thing for me because I laugh about it,” Towns said. “When you’re doing something so well for so long, it gets boring. I guess I’m a boring guy now…It’s never been about the individual awards. It’s about the team success. I’ve got to do better of getting my team in a better position to win. Obviously, it’s going to be fun this year to have the kind of group I have.”
While it may seem like the endorsements and other financial opportunities are heavily concentrated in bigger markets, Towns is doing just fine, as his agency (CAA) has helped him with off-court exposure. In addition to endorsements, Towns has been in movies and on television shows. He has a YouTube Channel as well.
“I thought when you were in Minnesota, you would have less opportunities. I’ve seemed to have only grown with my opportunities,” Towns said. “The idea of it being because of my market or where I’m at is a false narrative that’s written by people who want to keep big cities’ talent pool larger than others. It’s just not true.
“We’re in a digital age. Talent is talent wherever you are. We find it through social media and the markets and the companies know who they want to work with. It doesn’t matter where.”
Jazz Sign Jeff Green To One-Year Deal
JULY 20, 8:09am: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
JULY 2, 6:10pm: The Jazz will sign Jeff Green to a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Green will make $2.5MM, the minimum for a player of his experience level.
Green played last season for the Wizards. He had said he would “love to come back” to Washington but the franchise added wings/forwards in the draft, which complicated matters. The 32-year-old was speculated to be a target of the Lakers, given his previous success playing alongside LeBron James.
Utah needed replacements for both Derrick Favors (sent to the Pelicans) and Jae Crowder (dealt to the Grizzlies). Green will help replenish the team’s depth. Utah came to agreements with Bojan Bogdanovic and Ed Davis to help stabilize the frontcourt.
Ed Davis Signs Two-Year Deal With Jazz
JULY 20, 8:03am: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
JUNE 30, 9:20pm: The Jazz have agreed to sign big man Ed Davis to a two-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com passes along via Twitter. Davis will make $10MM over the next two seasons.
Utah will use the room exception to sign Davis, which is the same type of deal the big man inked last summer in Brooklyn. Davis was our Room Exception MVP, as I broke down in our contract awards.
Davis had previously stated that the financials would likely dictate his destination in free agency. “First is the money…Then, two is fit,” Davis said last month.
The Jazz agreed to a contract with Bojan Bogdanovic earlier in the day, reaching a four-year, $73MM deal with the wing. The team is expected to either trade or waive Derrick Favors in order to accommodate the signing. Davis will help Utah fortify its big man rotation.
Raptors Sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson To One-Year Deal
JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed Hollis-Jefferson, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 8: Hollis-Jefferson’s deal with the Raptors will be worth the minimum, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.
JULY 7: Free agent forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will join the Raptors on a one-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Hollis-Jefferson, 24, spent the first four years of his NBA career in Brooklyn after being selected with the 23rd overall pick in 2015. While he’s a strong defender and can make some plays on offense, his shooting percentages bottomed out in 2018/19, as he made just 41.1% of his attempts from the floor and 18.4% from beyond the arc in 59 games.
Hollis-Jefferson never appeared to be in the Nets’ long-term plan, as the franchise previously withdrew his qualifying offer and renounced his rights, making him an unrestricted free agent. RHJ will have an opportunity to rebuild his stock and hit the market again next summer.
Since losing Kawhi Leonard (and Danny Green), Toronto has focused on adding younger wings with potential upside on low-cost deals. In addition to Hollis-Jefferson, the team agreed to sign former top-10 pick Stanley Johnson.
The Raptors also agreed to a three-year deal with Matt Thomas, which will use part of the team’s mid-level exception. Depending on the value of Hollis-Jefferson’s new contract, he could also be signed using some of Toronto’s MLE.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.