Southeast Notes: Magic, Wizards, Bertans, Hawks
Magic head coach Steve Clifford knows his team is going to need some time to get back in shape in the event that the NBA resumes the season, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel.
“This is going to be, whatever, six, seven weeks for these guys having not touched a basketball,” Clifford said. “Look, I played Division III [basketball]. I don’t think in my life I ever went six weeks without doing that,” Clifford said. “I think that you can guess, and then when you take that [layoff] and try to envision an NBA game, or an NBA playoff game, it’s going to take some time for sure.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton would be a good fit with the Wizards. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports contends. The 6’5″ guard has a chance to go in the top five of the upcoming NBA Draft.
- Hughes (in a separate piece), examines Davis Bertans‘ first season with the Wizards. Bertans, who was traded to the team last summer, told Hughes that he felt like he fit in with the team “right away,” and suggested he’d be a good fit with John Wall if he were to re-sign with the club this offseason.
- Chris Kirschner of The Athletic takes a look at a handful of possible free agent targets for the Hawks this summer. Brandon Ingram would be a great addition for the club, though he is a restricted free agent and New Orleans is likely to match any offer.
Draft Notes: Nembhard, Mann, Lawson, More
Sophomore guard Andrew Nembhard will test the draft waters, college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman reports (Twitter link). Nembhard has signed with Jaafar Choufani, who is one of just 23 NCAA-certified agents. The point guard will retain his ability to return to Florida if he decides to go that route.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Florida freshman guard Tre Mann has declared for the draft, Goodman passes along on Twitter. Mann averaged 5.3 points per game this past year.
- South Carolina sophomore guard A.J. Lawson will test the draft water, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Lawson will have the ability to return to school as he has not hired an agent.
- Jonathan Givony of Draft Express passes along several international prospects who will declare for the 2020 draft. Miguel Gonzalez (Baskonia), Sander Raieste (BC Kalev), Osas Ehigiator (Fuenlabrada), Njegos Sikiras (Fuenlabrada) have all entered their names.
Draft Prospect Teshaun Hightower Charged With Murder
Tulane guard and once-NBA draft hopeful Teshaun Hightower has been arrested and charged with murder, as Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com reports.
The charge is related to a homicide that occurred on April 8 in Stockbridge, Georgia. Hightower was taken into custody on Saturday night, and Tulane announced earlier today that it has dismissed him from its program.
Hightower was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and battery, per Schlabach. The Georgia native is just one of six men being investigated in the homicide of 24-year-old Devante Anthony Long — five of the six are in custody.
The 6’5″ guard had declared his intentions to test the draft waters earlier this offseason. Before coming to Tulane, Hightower played two seasons at the University of Georgia.
Nets Notes: Lue, Kidd, Durant, Martin
Many around the league believe Tyronn Lue, who is rumored to be in the running to coach the Nets next season, would be the best fit for Brooklyn, as Eric Pincus writes for Bleacher Report. Lue previously coached Irving in Cleveland and the Lakers’ guard has a reputation for managing top talent well.
“He can handle egos,” one former executive told Pincus. “[They] need a guy with rings … Ty all day.”
Jason Kidd would be another choice, as he has won a ring in the past and has the respect of players.
“I think Kyrie and KD would need a championship coach (Lue) or a Hall-of-Famer (Kidd),” said another executive. “I think both (players) have personalities that are mercurial and require different aspects from their coaches.
“I like Kidd. He’s very charming … LeBron speaks highly of him…Some people around the league say that’s his game: Be very nice, then get in while your guard is down.”
Kidd previously coached the Nets, where he reportedly lobbied for a title that would place him above the team’s GM in the organization’s hierarchy. The franchise opted not to allow this to happen and Kidd ultimately moved to Milwaukee to coach the Bucks. However, it’s worth noting that ownership has changed in Brooklyn since Kidd’s most recent stint. Still, even if there are no leftover issues within the club, some believe the former point guard isn’t made out for the position.
“Kidd can’t coach,” a different Western Conference executive told Pincus.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Nets‘ new head coach could come down to Kevin Durant‘s preference, Pincus adds in the same piece. Durant and his manager, Rich Kleiman, are expected to have influence on the selection.
- Durant and Irving might be “too new-school” for the team to bring in Mark Jackson as the coach, an executive tells Pincus (same piece). Regardless of who the Nets choose, a decision isn’t expected for quite some time.
- Ajayi Brown of NetsDaily breaks down the game of Jeremiah Martin, 6’2″ scoring guard who had just received a two-way contract with the Nets prior to the league’s hiatus. Martin only played 16 minutes for the Nets but was making strides while playing for the franchise’s G League affiliate.
Wizards Sent Scouts To Evaluate LaMelo Ball
The Wizards have a 4.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick, as our Reverse Standings indicate. The franchise is preparing for that scenario and others as it internally gets ready for the offseason.
Washington sent scouts to Australia to watch LaMelo Ball this past season, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports writes. Ball has a chance to go No. 1 overall and appears to be a safe bet to go in the top five of the upcoming draft.
Doing due diligence on every prospect is common practice in the NBA, so the Wizards exploring all possibilities shouldn’t be taken as any sort of indication of their stance on John Wall. Still, the fit between Ball and Wall would take some doctoring to make work, despite Ball having the size (6’7″ height, 6’10” wingspan) to play the wing if needed.
R.J. Hampton, who some expect to be a lottery selection, also played in Australia with Ball, so Washington was able to fulfill multiple objectives by sending scouts abroad.
Allen Iverson Among Greatest NBA/NFL What-Ifs
The world of sports is filled with dual-sport athletes who likely would have excelled if they had chosen another path. Mekhi Becton, who was selected by the New York Jets in this year’s NFL draft, was an explosive high school basketball athlete in Highland Springs, Virginia, before deciding to attend Louisville and focus on football full-time.
[Did you know that we are a dual-sport threat? Be sure to check out Pro Football Rumors for the latest news and rumors on the NFL Draft and offseason.]
One of the most famous examples of a player dominating in two sports and picking one over the other before college is another Virginia native, Allen Iverson.
Before going on to become a Hall of Fame player in the NBA, Iverson was in position to have a great football career. The Sixers great earned the State of Virginia’s High School Football Player of the Year and Basketball Player of the Year in the same season, as Tim Casey of VICE Sports details.
Iverson would have college recruiters, including Florida State’s staff, show up to his games. FSU believed Iverson could play quarterback for its football team while also playing point guard for the basketball team, similar to how Charlie Ward played both sports (Ward won a Heisman trophy in 1993 before playing 11 years in the NBA).
“We were on him hard,” former Florida State assistant head coach Chuck Amato previously told Casey “He was just a great athlete and a competitor. He would’ve been the first Michael Vick.”
Vick, another Virginia athlete, was arguably the most electric playmaker ever to play college football. Iverson ultimately played basketball at Georgetown, but he missed the gridiron. While in the program, he approached coach John Thompson about playing for Georgetown’s football team and had his request denied.
“He said, ‘I’ll tell you what I think about you playing football. If you don’t get your skinny black [explicit] the eff out of my face…you better,'” Iverson told SLAM back in 2012. “Just like that. I never thought about playing football again after that. I mean, he made it clear that this is not why I was here.”
Iverson’s former football coach believes the now 44-year-old would have had a career similar to Deion Sanders. Iverson certainly thrived in the craft he pursued — he was the No. 1 pick in 1996 by the Sixers and he made 11 All-Star games in his career. Still, you wonder, what if…
“Football is always going to be my No. 1 sport,” Iverson said back in 2016. “It was my first love. Obviously if things went another way, I probably would have ended up playing football instead of basketball, but God got his way of doing things.”
In honor of this week’s NFL draft, here are a few others who showed off a combination of basketball and football talent:
- Longtime NBA guard and three-time Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson, who appeared in more than 600 regular season games for eight NBA teams, initially enrolled at the University of Washington on a football scholarship before concentrating on basketball beginning in his sophomore year. At the end of his 11-year NBA career in 2016, the former Huskies defensive back tried out for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
- Antonio Gates, one of the NFL’s all-time best tight ends, put up impressive numbers as a basketball player at Kent State, averaging 20.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 4.1 APG in 2002/03 on his way to All-MAC First Team honors. While Gates’ 955 career receptions and 116 total touchdowns in the NFL suggest he made the right choice, he has admitted to wondering how he might have performed in the NBA.
- Before he was an NBA team president or head coach, Pat Riley was a two-sport athlete, having been drafted in 1967 by the San Diego Rockets in the NBA and as a wide receiver by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. The Cowboys selected Riley and recruited him despite the fact that he hadn’t played football since high school. Although Riley says he considered playing in the NFL, he ultimately opted for the more viable basketball path and has now spent more than five decades in in the NBA as a player, broadcaster, coach, and executive.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Danny Ainge Talks Draft Prep, Celtics’ Engagement
Executives and coaches around the league are taking different approaches to keep their teams engaged during the NBA’s hiatus. Celtics team president Danny Ainge is simply trying to keep his guys motivated, as he believes the season will resume and wants to be ready for that moment.
“We’re approaching this like we’re going to return to play and that we’re going to be playing playoff basketball,” Ainge said told reporters earlier this week including Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “And we are staying in touch. We are having conference calls where we have guest speakers, motivational speakers, that address all of our guys on Zoom. We are doing workouts with the coaches and with the strength coaches via Zoom and so forth.”
Who have the guest speakers been so far? There are some notable names on the list.
“Maybe I don’t want to say that, just because maybe they’ll get bombarded by other people that read this,” Ainge said. “But we’ve had… Mark Wahlberg, (he) was great. He was a lot of fun. Our players got a good kick out of him. He had some pretty good stories. LL Cool J, his story is pretty fascinating. Jim Cash (one of the Celts’ board of directors), who’s always magnificent to listen to, had some great wisdom and knowledge for the players. And we had Dr. Myron Rolle, who has a fascinating story (neurosurgery resident, former NFL player), here at Mass General. So, yeah, we’ve had some very inspirational speakers.”
As for the evaluation part of his job, Ainge doesn’t envision the current circumstances making it that much more difficult. He did admit that not having pre-draft sessions (which is a possibility) could force teams to miss out on some gems.
“Let’s just take Rajon Rondo as an example,” Ainge explained. “Had I not been able to see him in the draft workout and sat down and talked with him and looked into his eyes, I don’t think I would have drafted him. So I think there is value in that. At the same time we drafted Avery Bradley without any draft workouts. We drafted Steve Nash back in our Phoenix days without a draft workout. So I think you don’t always get guys in for draft workouts, but you have to be prepared to take guys. That’s why we’re doing so much homework at this time and taking advantage of getting ahead of the game in case we don’t get draft workouts. But we’ll be prepared.”
Donovan Mitchell Untouchable In Trade Talks?
A recent rift between Jazz All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert led to speculation that the Jazz may be forced to move one or the other this offseason, but that is not the case.
Mitchell and Gobert admitted to going through a rough patch after both players tested positive for COVID-19, with reports suggesting that Gobert was cavalier with teammates and their belongings leading up to his diagnosis. However, the two Jazz cornerstones are said to be repairing their relationship and are expected to remain together for the foreseeable future.
Utah has no plans to trade either player and Mitchell should be considered “untouchable” in trade talks, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag. Jones, who addressed a reader’s question on the matter, cites Mitchell’s talent as well as his involvement in Utah’s community and his contract status as reasons why the Jazz are unlikely to consider a move.
Mitchell has one more year left on his rookie-scale contract, though he’s expected to sign an extension this summer. Gobert has just one season left on his deal. The center will make approximately $26.5MM during the 2020/21 campaign.
Walt Frazier Defends Old Jordan Clip
One of the trending takeaways from The Last Dance was Knicks great Walt Frazier saying Michael Jordan wasn’t going to win in the league. After Jordan was drafted by the Bulls in 1984, Frazier said that the former UNC standout was “not seven foot, so he’s not going to carry a team in the NBA.”
Frazier heard that his words were in the documentary and defended his view this week.
“Early on, I wasn’t that familiar with him in college,’’ Frazier told Marc Berman of The New York Post. “Anyone who plays for Dean Smith, he holds them back. Vince Carter, (James) Worthy. You never know the versatility of these guys when they play for North Carolina. He keeps them in a team system. No one knew he was going to do what he did.”
“He broke his foot (his second season), I was like, ‘I don’t know,'” Frazier recalled. “And he was having trouble and complaining because he couldn’t beat the Pistons (in the late ’80s). He was crying he thought the general manager didn’t know what he was doing. That was when I still wasn’t sure if he’d be able to carry a team and make the next step. Then all of a sudden it happened.”
Frazier helped the Knicks win their first title in 1970. Years later, during the Bulls’ championship runs, Jordan knocked out New York on several occasions while Frazier was broadcasting for his former squad. He admits that he hasn’t watched the first two episodes of The Last Dance.
“I’m in enough pain with the coronavirus — I didn’t want to watch Jordan,’’ Frazier said. The Hall of Fame point guard then detailed his thoughts on who he thinks is the best player ever.
“There were only two players they ever changed the rules for in pro basketball – George Mikan, and Wilt Chamberlain — widening the lane for them,” Frazier said. “The two guys they had to neutralize by changing some aspect of the game. If not for Chamberlain, nobody would’ve heard of any of us. I don’t know if there would’ve been an NBA. If not for Wilt and Bill Russell. I don’t know if the NBA would’ve made it.
“I would find it hard to say Mike. Mike is right there with those guys, but if I had to pick, it would be Chamberlain.”
Suns Address Draft Needs, Devin Booker’s Point Guard Potential
Even as the season hangs in limbo, NBA teams continue to prepare for the offseason. The Suns admit that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a “unique” environment for the team to scout talent, as Gina Mizell of The Athletic writes.
The Suns are looking to add play-making, defense, and shooting in the draft. Phoenix has the 10th-worst record in the NBA with 3.0% chance of landing the No. 1 pick.
“We’ll find a player that can fit with this group and embodies what we’re about,” GM James Jones said. “Just having a chance to really dig into it, I’m excited about the draft. I know some people aren’t as high on this draft when it doesn’t have star power or marketing power or sexy names. But I see a lot of good basketball players, and that’s all we’re looking for.”
Jones added that he’s impressed with the current guys on the roster.
“I love our team,” he added. “We can see that we have everything that we need to continue to improve internally.”
Regardless of how the team navigates through the draft and free agency, it’s possible the Devin Booker will get more run at point guard.
“He’s at a point in his career where he’s just making the right plays consistently,” head coach Monty Williams said of Booker. “My thought is, put the ball in his hands about 10-12 minutes — maybe more — per game, and see how that impacts our team.”