Western Notes: Dieng, George, Nelson, Williams
In an interesting pierce regarding former head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau‘s tenure with the Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic shares a story involving how the relegation of forward Gorgui Dieng to the bench was just one example of Thibodeau’s inability to effectively communicate and integrate with others in the organization.
Dieng, a starter for all 82 games in Minnesota during the 2016/17 season, Thibodeau’s first, showed up for training camp in 2017 expecting to continue starting, or at least have an opportunity to compete for a starting position with newly-signed Taj Gibson, a stalwart for Thibodeau during his days in Chicago coaching the Bulls. After all, Dieng had just signed a four-year, $62.8MM contract extension with the Timberwolves the previous summer.
However, before the first practice of camp, and without any communication of any kind from Thibodeau or any representative thereof, Dieng was relegated to the second unit by discovering a second-unit jersey hanging in his locker. Per Krawczynski, Dieng took the lack of communication as a sign of disrespect, one which he seemingly never got over during the course of Thibodeau’s tenure with the Timberwolves.
Rather, Dieng’s play suffered, as did his playing time, going from 10.0 points and 7.9 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game in 2016/17 to averages of 5.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 16.9 MPG, with zero starts, during the 2017/18 campaign. With two seasons left on his current contract, Dieng, now 29, will look to return to the form he displayed during the 2016/17 season, as Gibson enters this offseason as an unrestricted free agent, his future with the Timberwolves still unknown.
There’s more news from the Western Conference this afternoon:
- It’s clear from his decision to sign a long-term deal with the Thunder this summer that Paul George wants to be in Oklahoma City, but the question now becomes whether or not George is able and willing to overtake Russell Westbrook as the franchise’s marquee player, which Brett Dawson of The Athletic writes may be necessary if the Thunder ever want to reach their full potential with the team’s current core.
- Pelicans‘ new general manager David Griffin is prioritizing hiring highly-respected trainer Aaron Nelson, currently the Suns’ Senior Vice President of Athlete Health & Performance, away from Phoenix, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times. As his profile on the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association states, Nelson and his staff have built the Suns into an industry leader with a reputation for prolonging the careers of some of the game’s best players.
- In other Suns’ news, 76ers’ assistant coach Monty Williams, a highly-regard head-coaching candidate this offseason for both Phoenix and the Lakers, had a “very positive” meeting with Suns’ brass on Friday (story). Williams, the first candidate to meet with the Suns’ front office since Igor Kokoskov‘s firing on Monday, is a top contender to be James Jones‘ pick for the team’s next head coach.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson Both Cleared To Play In Game 1
1:54pm: Thompson has been cleared to play by the Warriors’ medical staff, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. Thompson and Curry will start alongside Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Iguodala (the “death lineup”), as Kerr decides to go small against the Rockets.
1:28pm: Warriors‘ All-Star point guard Stephen Curry will play in Game 1 of this afternoon’s Western Conference Semifinals match-up against the Rockets, reports Mark Medina of The Mercury News.
Curry, as well as backcourt mate Klay Thompson, were both listed as questionable for Game 1 with sprained right ankles, and while head coach Steve Kerr says Curry is good to go, Thompson will test his ankle out pregame before making a decision on whether to play, per Marc Spears of ESPN.
“If this thing (Thompson’s ankle) is going to get worse,” Kerr added, “we should not play him today.”
Kerr has declined to publicly declare who would start in Thompson’s place should he not be ready to go, but candidates include Shaun Livingston and Alfonzo McKinnie. Veteran swingman Andre Iguodala is also a possibility, but Kerr generally likes to use him as a spark plug off the bench.
Five Key Stories: 4/20/19 – 4/27/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
Recently hired Kings head coach Luke Walton has been sued by former Spectrum Sportsnet LA reporter Kelly Tennant for an alleged sexual assault that occurred in a Santa Monica hotel room back in 2014. The suit alleges that Walton forcibly kissed Tennant and rubbed his body against her despite her pleas to stop. The Kings and the NBA have since announced a joint investigation into Tennant’s allegations against Walton. Meanwhile, the Kings have maintained that until the investigation uncovers more facts, they will take an “innocent-until-proven-guilty” approach with Walton.
The Suns parted ways with head coach Igor Kokoskov after he led Phoenix to a conference-worst record of 19-65 in his first season at the helm. The first ever European-born head coach in the NBA, Kokoskov was hired last May after an extensive hiring process by former GM Ryan McDonough. While it’s not clear exactly what prompted the Suns’ change, the team just revamped its front office yet again and it’s possible new GM James Jones wanted to make his own hire.
Pistons’ All-Star forward Blake Griffin underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Griffin, 30, had the procedure done to address the issue that caused soreness in the knee late in the regular season and the playoffs. He is not expected to miss any planned offseason training for next season, but this continues a pattern of left leg injuries for Griffin. He has also suffered a sprained MCL, broken kneecap, meniscus tear, partially torn quadriceps and bone bruise in the same leg during his career.
Celtics’ all-time leading scorer John Havlicek passed away at the age of 79 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The Celtics have since announced their plan to memorialize Havlicek with a black patch on the team’s jerseys with the No. 17 on them. Havlicek’s eight NBA Championships are third all-time, but he’s perhaps best known for his game-clinching steal and the resulting iconic broadcast line, “Havlicek stole the ball” at the close of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals.
Trail Blazers’ big man Enes Kanter is questionable to appear in the team’s second-round series against the Spurs or Nuggets after suffering a separated left shoulder in Portland’s Game 5 win over the Thunder. Game 1 is not until Monday night, so the team has some time to treat the injury, and the Blazers remain hopeful that Kanter will be able to go.
Here are 9 more headlines worth passing along in what was a busy week for the NBA:
- Despite suffering a torn ACL in Auburn’s Sweet 16 win over No. 1 seed North Carolina in this year’s NCAA Tournament, sophomore forward Chuma Okeke has entered his name into the 2019 NBA Draft pool.
- Clippers’ general manager Michael Winger has decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the role of president of basketball operations with the Timberwolves, opting instead to remain in Los Angeles.
- ESPN’s No. 19 ranked prospect, Georgian center Goga Bitadze, has declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. Bitadze broke the record for best PER by a teenager in EuroLeague history this season, breaking the record set by Luka Doncic last year.
- Nets’ general manager Sean Marks was fined $25K and suspended for Brooklyn’s Game 5 loss to the Sixers after going into the referees’ locker room following the team’s Game 4 loss.
- The Lakers currently have no plans in place to hire a replacement for former president of basketball operations Magic Johnson. GM Rob Pelinka is currently leading the franchise’s search for a new head coach.
- The Lakers and head coaching candidate Tyronn Lue met for a second interview earlier this week. The Lakers are also considering Monty Williams and Juwan Howard to be the team’s next head coach.
- In addition to the aforementioned candidates, the Lakers also interviewed former Bucks’ head coach Jason Kidd. Reports suggest he’s not as serious of a candiate as the other three, however.
- 233 early entrants declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. The prospects, 175 from college and 58 international players, have until May 29 and June 10, respectively, to pull their name from the draft pool.
- Jazz sharpshooter Kyle Korver, now 38, will once again consider retirement this offseason after going through the same decision last summer. His $7.5MM 2019/20 salary is only partially guaranteed for $3.44MM.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Grizzlies Promote Tayshaun Prince
As part of their continued effort to revamp their front office, the Grizzlies have promoted Tayshaun Prince to Vice President of Basketball Affairs within the franchise’s basketball operations department, according to an official release from the team.
In his new/enhanced role, Prince will “facilitate alignment between the front office, coaching staff and locker room and participate in the evaluation of professional, college and G League personnel.” So, it sounds like he’ll have several roles, both in scouting and in acting as a bridge between the players and front office on a day-to-day basis.
“We are excited to establish Tayshaun as a core member of our front office,” Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Zach Kleiman said. “His knowledge of the game is exceptional and we are thrilled he will continue providing valuable contributions to the organization on a day-to-day basis.”
As we’ve noted before, the Grizzlies have been searching for some more experienced basketball executives to join the front office ever since re-assigning Chris Wallace and promoting Kleiman, and this latest move certainly fits that narrative.
[RELATED: Grizzlies hire Rich Cho, Glen Grunwald]
Prince, who joined the Grizzlies’ front office in 2017 as Special Advisor to Wallace, also played for the Grizzlies for three seasons, from 2013 to 2015. He helped Memphis reach the Western Conference Finals in 2013 alongside Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/20/19 – 4/27/19
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:
- In this week’s community shootaround posts, we asked:
- Which player has had the best postseason so far?
- Which NBA franchise is the best fit for Pelicans’ guard Jrue Holiday should the 28-year-old hit the trade block?
- Are the Thunder ready for a rebuilding project or should they ramp up their roster for another playoff run in 2019/20?
- Of the two Eastern Conference semifinals, which is more compelling?
- Who has the advantage in Game 7 between the Nuggets and Spurs?
- What will happen between the Nets and All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell this summer?
- Our annual Offseason Salary Cap Digest series focused on the following teams:
- We took a look at the 12 players with a standard team option in their contract for the 2019/20 season.
- In this week’s polls, we asked about your choices for All-NBA Second Team and All-NBA Third Team. We also asked:
- Which team do you believe is going to win the first-round series between Denver and San Antonio?
- Which team is going to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals?
- The Hoops Rumors writing team made their choices for Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player.
- Luke Adams began tracking the NBA’s offseason front office shakeups.
- Dana Gauruder’s Stock Watch series focused on Western Conference playoff participants whose free agent value rose or dropped due to their playoff performance.
Rockets To Practice In Bay Area
The Rockets, fresh off a first-round series win over the Jazz, will travel to the Bay Area tomorrow to begin preparation for what the team evidently believes will be a second-round match-up against the Warriors, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Interestingly, the Warriors have not yet been able to dispatch the Clippers in their first-round series, so the Rockets decision to assume they will face Golden State in the next round is curious at best and disrespectful to the Clippers at worst.
The Rockets, of course, say they intend no disrespect to the Clippers – who host the Warriors in Game 6 tomorrow night – but rather insist that the quick turnaround between series creates a situation where Houston needs to get used to the Pacific Time Zone in case they open the second round at Oracle Arena on Sunday afternoon, which will happen if the Warriors win tomorrow night.
Even if the Clippers win tomorrow night, the Rockets will reportedly remain in the Bay Area, and only head back to Houston if the Clippers beat the Warriors in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon.
It’s unlikely the Clippers, who seem to play as hard and with as big of a chip on their shoulders as anybody, would need any extra motivation for tomorrow night, but if they did, this sure qualifies as bulletin board material.
John Havlicek Passes Away At 79
The Celtics have confirmed that Hall-of-Fame forward John Havlicek, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, has passed away at the age of 79 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. As part of their official statement, the Celtics wrote:
“John Havlicek is one of the most accomplished players in Boston Celtics history, and the face of many of the franchise’s signature moments. He was a great champion both on the court and in the community, winning 8 NBA championships and an NBA Finals MVP.”
“Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, he is enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame… His defining traits as a player were his relentless hustle and wholehearted commitment to team over self. He was extraordinarily thoughtful and generous, both on a personal level and for those in need…”
“John was kind and considerate, humble and gracious. He was a champion in every sense, and as we join his family, friends, and fans in mourning his loss, we are thankful for all the joy and inspiration he brought to us.”
Havlicek, affectionately known as “Hondo,” is perhaps best known for his clutch steal in the closing moments of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and 76ers. Boston would go on to win the NBA Finals that season 4-1 over the Lakers.
Nets Notes: LeVert, Durant, Free Agency
Swingman Caris LeVert is going to be a key piece for the Nets this summer, in more ways than one, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. LeVert, affectionately nicknamed “Baby Durant” due to his lanky build, style of play, and relationship with his nickname-namesake, is the one player on the Brooklyn roster with connections to Kevin Durant, the cream of this summer’s free-agent crop.
But on top of that, LeVert is also a key piece of the Nets’ young core – he led the team in scoring before injuring his foot and then again during the playoffs – and locking him up to a long-term contract extension should be near the top of the team’s offseason to-do list, right next to making a run at Durant, writes Lewis.
LeVert, 24, just completed the third season of a rookie contract he signed after being drafted No. 20 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Therefore, per the CBA, the Nets have until the day before the start of the 2019/20 season (but not before the end of the July Moratorium) to lock LeVert up to a long-term deal, potentially through 2024 (or 2025 if the club designates him), right before LeVert turns 30.
As Lewis notes, the Nets opted not to extend the rookie contract of D’Angelo Russell last summer, instead letting the 23-year-old All-Star hit restricted free agency. Brooklyn is still in a good position to re-sign Russell, but it’s likely they could have gotten him on a cheaper contract last summer before his breakout 2018/19 season. Failing to extend LeVert could again cost the Nets money next summer should LeVert outperform expectations in 2019/20 akin to how Russell did this season.
Furthermore, keeping LeVert happy is important in order for the Nets to have the best chance at signing Durant this summer. And LeVert has made it clear he’s happy in Brooklyn. “I’d love to play here as long as possible,” LeVert said. “I love the city of Brooklyn, I love the coaches and the team here. So whatever we decide to do, I’ll be happy with.”
There’s more news out of Brooklyn this evening:
- The Nets being ahead of schedule in their rebuild does not mean they should sacrifice their core to go wild in free agency, writes Sean Deveney of Sporting News. For example, Brooklyn could make a trade and let Russell go in free agency in order to create two max-contract slots. But doing so would destabilize the nucleus of a team that is on the rise, and there is no guarantee that the two-max players would fit into head coach Kenny Atkinson’s system. Even signing one max-guy shouldn’t be a no-brainer, writes Deveney, as that player could potentially stunt the growth of LeVert or a guy like Spencer Dinwiddie.
- Despite the lack of an on-court rivalry between the two teams from the Big Apple, the Knicks and Nets could be headed for an offseason, front-office-oriented showdown this summer in the form of Durant’s free agency, writes Stefan Bondy of the Daily News. One factor in the Nets’ favor is location – per forward Jared Dudley – as the Nets practice in Brooklyn while the Knicks practice in Tarrytown, a village in Westchester County located roughly 30 miles north of Manhattan.
- Frank Isola of The Athletic also chimed in on the difference in value between the Knicks and Nets from the eyes of free agents, writing that Madison Square Garden, fan base, and team history tip the scales in New York’s favor, despite the tremendous job that Atkinson and Sean Marks have done in the last three years.
Community Shootaround: More Compelling Eastern Conference Semifinal
The Eastern Conference semifinals are set and NBA fans have a great weekend to look forward to, with the 76ers traveling north of the border to take on the Raptors this Saturday followed by the Celtics traveling to Milwaukee to face the top-seeded Bucks on Sunday afternoon.
The Bucks took two out of three from the Celts during the regular season, with the Bucks winning on their home floor and the teams splitting the two games played in Boston. Both teams are coming off impressive sweeps – of the Pacers (albeit without Victor Oladipo) and Pistons – and will now face off against a more even-matched opponent.
The Bucks lost to the Celtics in last year’s postseason, falling in Game 7 to a Celtics team led by Terry Rozier, Al Horford, and Jayson Tatum. Both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are now back in the fold, but the Bucks are also a much better team this season behind MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and new head coach Mike Budenholzer.
On the other side of the bracket, the Sixers and Raptors will face each other in the postseason for the first time since 2001, when the Sixers and Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson pulled out the series win in Game 7 despite a stellar performance from an in-his-prime Vince Carter. The Sixers are looking to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since that season, while the Raptors are looking for the first conference championship in franchise history.
The two-seeded Raptors won the regular season series between the teams 3-1, with Toronto winning both games at Scotiabank Arena and the Sixers splitting their home games at Wells Fargo Center. Both teams have new faces this postseason, with the Raptors adding Kawhi Leonard this summer and the Sixers trading for starters Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris during the 2018/19 season.
So, based on the above and any other factors you may consider, which match-up do you think will be the most compelling? Will either or both series go the full seven games? Will there be a sweep? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Kyle Korver Mulling Retirement
The Jazz’ 2018/19 season is now over after Wednesday night’s Game 5 loss to the Rockets. And while countless decisions abound, one of those decisions will be made for a second time, writes Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News.
Sharpshooter Kyle Korver, now 38, will consider calling it quits again this offseason after mulling the same decision last summer. Korver’s current contract runs through next season, but his $7.5MM salary is only guaranteed for $3.44MM. His 2019/20 salary becomes fully guaranteed on July 7. Korver says his family will be a primary factor in his decision.
“There’s a real cost as you get older,” Korver said of playing professional basketball. “There’s what you need to put into the game, but there’s also a family cost. That’s probably where I’m at is weighing that cost.”
Should Korver decide to retire this summer, he’ll finish with a career scoring average of 9.9 PPG on an impressive .443/.429/.878 shooting line. His 2,351 three-point field goals made currently ranks fourth all-time behind Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, and Stephen Curry, making him one of the best three-point shooters of all time.