Atlantic Notes: Ivey, DiVincenzo, Lin, Bridges
In some similar news for two different franchises from the Atlantic Division, both the Knicks and the Sixers are reportedly interested in hiring Royal Ivey as an assistant coach, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic and Ian Begley of ESPN.
Ivey, who is from New York City, has been an assistant coach for the Thunder for the last two seasons after starting his post-playing career as a coach for their G League team, the Blue, but could perhaps be looking for an opportunity closer to home.
Per Begley, Ivey has already interviewed with the Knicks for a position of new coach David Fizdale’s staff, while the Sixers are reported to simply have interest in the 36 year old at this time.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge is apparently interested in combine standout and Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo, as the former NBA guard and the current Wildcat went to lunch together after DiVincenzo’s workout in Boston, reports Adam Zagoria of SportsNet New York.
- In a wide-ranging piece for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov details the return from injury for Nets’ point guard Jeremy Lin, who signed a three-year, $36 million contract in 2016 but has been unable to play very often since signing the deal, appearing in only 37 games in the past two seasons. Lin now says he is nearly ready to play and “pretty much at that point where everything is good to go.”
- One target and/or option for the Knicks at No. 9 in the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft is Villanova swingman Mikal Bridges. Per Ian Begley of ESPN, team president Steve Mills, GM Scott Perry, and director of scouting Kristian Petesi were all at his pro day today in New York.
Amar’e Stoudemire Planning NBA Comeback?
Six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire said today that he’s considering a return to the NBA, reports Ian Begley of ESPN. Stoudemire last played professionally in Israel after retiring from the NBA in the summer of 2016.
Stoudemire, 35, who spoke of his desire to potentially return during an appearance on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN 98.7 FM, said – for what’s it worth – that he’s in great shape and training as if he were returning to the NBA. He’ll participate in the BIG3’s second season this summer.
Stoudemire is perhaps best known for his tenure with the Suns for eight seasons from 2002 to 2010, where he teamed up with two-time MVP Steve Nash to form a dynamic duo that made the Western Conference Finals three times – in 2005, 2006, and 2010.
Individually, Stoudemire was named to an All-NBA team five times in his career, earning first team honors in 2007 after averaging 20.4 PPG and a career-high 9.6 RPG.
Central Notes: Brown, Pistons, Gilbert
In some relatively serious off the court news, Bucks’ rookie Sterling Brown plans to file a civil rights lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department as a result of being tased and arrested in January, reports Gina Barton and Ashley Lutheran of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The police released the body cam footage of the incident during a press conference earlier this evening, and as one can see, the video doesn’t really demonstrate the Bucks’ guard acting wrongfully in any way, with Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett even going as far as saying the officer’s actions against Brown made him uneasy.
“It was a disturbing video when I saw it, and I know that the police chief (Morales) feels the same way,” Barrett said yesterday. “And I don’t know exactly what actions his department is going to take, but it is disconcerting to see some of the actions in that video.”
Brown and the Bucks have since released statements, with Brown saying, in part:
My experience in January with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn’t happen to anybody. What should have been a simple parking ticket turned into an attempt at police intimidation, followed by the unlawful use of physical force, including being handcuffed and tased, and then unlawfully booked. This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future.
During today’s conference, police chief Alfonso Morales said that the officers involved “acted inappropriately” and “were recently disciplined,” but did not take any questions from reporters.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Amid a time of uncertainty, Pistons’ general manager Jeff Bower continues to operate business as usual, taking control of the front office until told otherwise, reports Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Bower’s contract expires on June 30, and the team is considering a pool of candidates to run the front office.
- One silver lining of the Cavaliers’ relative struggles this postseason is more profit for owner Dan Gilbert, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. The Cavs have already played eight home games this postseason, matching their total from all of last year’s playoffs. Home playoff games can net a team upwards of $3MM per contest.
- In other Pistons news, Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets that coach of the year candidate Dwane Casey is highly likely to be considered for the team’s open head coaching vacancy, while a decision on the front office should come in early June.
Shane Larkin Out For Game 5; Doubtful To Return During Series
As we relayed earlier today, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said yesterday that there was a chance injured guard Shane Larkin could return before the end of the Eastern Conference Finals, but that he was is doubtful to play in Game 5.
However, the team’s most recent injury report has now ruled Larkin out for tonight’s pivotal matchup with the Cavaliers, and further conveys that Larkin is doubtful to return during this series.
Larkin suffered a left shoulder sprain during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Sixers and has not been able to play since. His absence wasn’t particularly noticeable after the Celtics began the conference finals with a 2-0 lead, but the team was almost certainly more hopeful for his return after the Cavs tied the series at two games apiece on Monday night.
Larkin, 25, developed into a solid rotation player during his first season with Boston after injures allowed him more playing time. He will be an unrestricted free agency this summer.
Warriors Notes: Durant, Looney, Kerr, Green
As Kevin Durant continues his quest to win a second consecutive NBA Championship during the Western Conference Finals, Darren Rovell of ESPN takes an interesting look into how Durant is using his new home in the Bay Area as a means to grow his financial portfolio.
Durant has invested in Nike, Alaska Airlines and American Family Insurance, among other businesses, while his own media company, Thirty Five Media, is producing original content such as Swagger, which was recently sold to Apple, and two other projects that are currently in development with major TV networks.
Rovell also touched Durant’s endorsement battle between Nike and Under Armour during the summer of 2014 when Durant ultimately signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with Nike. Said Durant:
“I knew I had a supreme skill that needed to be compensated for, and I knew I played my way into having these negotiations. But I didn’t want to start over at Under Armour or Adidas. I knew where I wanted to be, and $300 million was more than enough.”
Finally, Durant spoke about his interest in potentially owning an NBA franchise someday, if possible.
“I wish I had the money. It’s crazy. Obviously, the financial part is definitely going to be the hardest part. (But) I would love to (own a team). All the aspects of owning a team, I would love to be involved in — from the financial and marketing side to the team-building to the camaraderie to the coaching.”
There’s more out of Oakland:
- Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post says that while the Warriors have four of the top 20 players in the NBA on their roster, the lack of a reliable supporting cast is threatening to derail the team’s run to a third championship in four seasons. Bontemps specifically mentions the signings of Nick Young and Omri Casspi as “spectacular failures.”
- Head coach Steve Kerr has won the Professional Basketball Writes Associations’ 2017/18 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, which honors the NBA coach who, in addition to exuding excellence on the bench, best cooperates with media and fans, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
- As we’ve noted before, it’s looking more and more likely that Kevon Looney will be playing basketball somewhere other than Oakland next year as he continues to impress during this year’s playoffs. After the team’s Game 3 win, Kerr specifically remarked on Looney’s ability as a big man to switch out onto talented playmakers such as Chris Paul and James Harden, reports Logan Murdock of the Bay Area News Group.
Chandler Hutchison, Mitchell Robinson Made Promises?
As we relayed on Wednesday, two notable NBA prospects, Chandler Hutchison and Mitchell Robinson, withdrew from this week’s 2018 NBA Draft Combine in advance of the event. We also heard on Thursday that Hutchison was reported to have found a “safe landing spot” in the late first round.
Now, according to a tweet from NBADraft.net and a story from Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype, it appears that promises may have been made to both players by teams picking in the 20’s of the upcoming draft. Hutchison is rumored to have received a promise by the Bulls at pick No. 22 while Robinson’s promise is purported to have come by the Lakers at pick No. 25.
It remains fairly early in the draft process for teams to be making promises to prospects, but the report at least provides a bit of context as to why Hutchison and Robinson may have withdrawn from the combine.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 5/12/18 – 5/19/18
Every week we strive to create interesting and original content to complement our news feed. Here are the original segments and features from the past seven days:
- We conducted several different polls, asking:
- Who should the Suns take with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft?
- Which team will win the Eastern Conference Finals?
- Which underdog, the Cavaliers or the Rockets, are in a better position to make the NBA Finals?
- In multiple different Community Shootarounds, we asked:
- Which team – the Knicks, Grizzlies, Hawks, Hornets, or Suns – made the best head coaching hire so far this offseason?
- Assuming the Celtics could only pick two of three, who would you take out of Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, and Terry Rozier?
- Before Mike Budenholzer accepted the Bucks’ head job, we asked whether the Bucks, Raptors, or Pistons were the best fit for him.
- We asked our readers to discuss before the lottery what the most interesting scenario would be.
- In his weekly mailbag, Arthur Hill answered readers’ questions regarding the market for an old-school big man, the Mavericks’ draft plans, and whether the Raptors made the right decision to fire Dwane Casey.
- Austin Kent continued his 2018 Free Agent Stock Watch:
- We continued our 2018 Offseason Salary Cap Digest with the following franchises:
- As part of our 2018 NBA Lottery coverage, we provided a primer and full results
- We relayed the full 2018 NBA Draft order as well as a team-by-team breakdown of picks.
- Chris Crouse analyzes how both NBA owners and players could benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on sports gambling.
- Luke Adams checked in on the three NBA head coaching searches still ongoing.
- Luke Adams began his 2018 Five Key Offseason Questions series:
Central Notes: LeBron, Draft, Sexton, Zipser
Much has been made in the last week of the Cavaliers’ poor performance against the Celtics in Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. One topic approached in particular is the potential free agency of LeBron James this summer. James, who has a player option worth a little more than $35.6MM, will again be the showcase of his free agent class like he was in 2010 if he decides to decline his option.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer opines that James, should he choose to enter the open market, may again change the way we think about free agency. O’Connor writes that as the most powerful player in the game, James could leave the Cavaliers and potentially land with the Rockets this offseason – most likely by opting in to his contract and forcing a sign and trade a la Chris Paul last season – then join the Sixers a year or two later before ending his career in Hollywood with the Lakers.
It may seem improbable, but as O’Connor notes, LeBron is probably the one player – other than perhaps Kevin Durant – who can get away with signing one-year contracts season after season, relying on his power and talent to confidently assure himself he’ll be able to sign another maximum-salary deal the next year. He’s been doing it with the Cavaliers ever since he returned to Cleveland in 2014.
Ultimately, while there likely won’t be another “The Decision” debacle if James ends up leaving the Cavaliers, it’ll be interesting to see where James ends up playing next season nonetheless.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Both the Bucks and Pacers have first round selections in this summer’s draft, with Milwaukee selecting at No. 17 and Indiana at No. 23. Beat writers J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star and Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provide five potential draft targets for each team.
- Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago takes a look at the fit of Alabama point guard Collin Sexton, aptly nicknamed “Young Bull,” as the pick for the Bulls at No. 7. Sexton, who was coached in college by former NBA coach Avery Johnson, averaged 24.2 points on 53 percent shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in five postseason games this past season.
- And speaking of the Bulls, Dan Santaromita of NBC Sports Chicago reports that reserve forward Paul Zipser underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a broken left foot. Zipser has a non-guaranteed contract worth just over $1.54MM for next season.
Five Key Stories: 5/12/18 – 5/19/18
In case you missed any of the past week’s top stories from around the NBA, we have you covered with our Week in Review. Below are the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days.
The NBA Draft Lottery took place on Tuesday night, with the Suns winning the top prize – the No. 1 pick in June’s draft. Arizona big man DeAndre Ayton is the favorite to be selected No. 1 overall, but he isn’t a lock, with Phoenix also interested in top European prospect Luka Doncic, who already has a player-coach relationship with new Suns’ head coach Igor Kokoskov. Both the Kings and Hawks moved up in the draft through the lottery, with the Grizzlies and Mavericks, and to a lesser extent the Magic and Bulls, dropping down. The full results of the lottery can be found right here, with the newly set draft order in its entirety here.
Speaking of Doncic, he is reportedly unsure as to whether or not he will come to the NBA next season. Speaking to reporters at the EuroLeague Final Four Press Conference on Thursday, Doncic said that he and his team have yet to make a decision as to where he will play next season, leaving open the possibility that he will remain overseas. While it’s certainly an option, some believe that Doncic’s comments are simply being used as a leverage to avoid certain teams selecting him in this summer’s draft.
After receiving strong interest from both the Bucks and the Raptors, former Hawks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer has chosen to take his talents to Milwaukee, with the Bucks officially naming Budenholzer as the franchise’s sixteenth head coach on Thursday. Both Budenholzer and Spurs’ assistant Ettore Messina received second interviews with the Bucks that included team ownership, but the Bucks ultimately decided on someone who many considered to be the most popular candidate on the coaching market this offseason. Budenholzer will reportedly sign a four-year contract with the Bucks.
Wizards’ big man Jason Smith will exercise his player option for the 2018/19 season worth $5.45MM, putting the Wizards’ dangerously close to the estimated luxury tax line for next season while still awaiting a player option decision from reserve shooting guard Jodie Meeks worth approximately $3.45MM. Smith’s player option was given to him when he signed a three-year contract during the free agency bonanza of 2016.
A potential frontrunner has emerged for the vacant head coaching job in Orlando, with the Magic reportedly having serious interest in University of Houston’s head coach Kelvin Sampson. The Magic, who are the only team still looking for a coach among those teams who have had an opening since the end of the regular season, have been quiet during their search, with only a few candidates – David Fizdale, Blazers assistant David Vanterpool, and Spurs assistant Ime Udoka – confirmed to have received interviews.
Here are 10 more headlines from the past week:
- The United States Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a federal statute that banned sports gambling, thereby opening the door for states to pass laws legalizing sports betting.
- Hawks’ point guard Dennis Schroder made some comments while in his home country of Germany that indicated he may not be happy in Atlanta.
- There is also some reported tension between the Timberwolves and their franchise youngster, big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Creighton guard Khyri Thomas, currently ranked as the 23rd best NBA prospect by ESPN, has announced his intention to keep his name in the 2018 NBA Draft.
- The Grizzlies, disappointed by moving from No. 2 to No. 4 in this year’s draft, are more likely than other high-selecting teams to trade their pick.
- After already being ruled out for Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it is now being reported that Celtics’ guard Shane Larkin will likely miss the remainder of the series.
- The Raptors plan to interview assistant coaches Nick Nurse and Rex Kalamian for their vacant head coaching position.
- Before hiring Budenholzer and meeting with Messina for a second time, the Bucks also met with Celtics’ assistant coach Jay Larranaga.
- The Hornets and new coach James Borrego have their eye on Jay Triano as a potential assistant on Borrego’s new coaching staff.
- Finalists for this season’s NBA awards were announced on Wednesday night.
Full 2018 NBA Draft Lottery Results
With Tuesday night’s lottery results now official, the top 14 picks in the 2018 NBA draft have been set. The lottery order is as follows:
- Phoenix Suns
- Sacramento Kings
- Atlanta Hawks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Dallas Mavericks
- Orlando Magic
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Nets)
- New York Knicks
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Lakers)
- Charlotte Hornets
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Pistons)
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
The Suns entered the night with the best odds (25.0%) at landing the No. 1 overall pick, and came away with that selection. The Kings, seventh in the lottery standings, only had an 18.3% chance at a top-three selection, but moved all the way up to No. 2. The Hawks, who had a 42.3% chance at a top-three pick, moved up from No. 4 to No. 3.
The Grizzlies, Mavericks, Magic, and Bulls had no lottery luck — Memphis and Dallas fell two spots each, while Orlando and Chicago each slipped one spot. Picks eight through 14 held to form.
With the Lakers’ first-rounder headed to Philadelphia, the Sixers will now owe the Celtics a first-round pick in 2019. That selection will be the more favorable of the Kings and Sixers first-rounders, unless one of those picks lands at No. 1. In that scenario, Boston would receive the less favorable pick.
The Pistons will send their first-round pick to the Clippers since it didn’t land in the top four, so Detroit’s obligation to L.A. has now been fulfilled — Detroit will have its own first-rounder in 2019 and beyond.
As we detailed earlier today, this is the last year these specific lottery odds will be in effect. Beginning in 2019, the NBA will smooth out those odds, reducing the chances of the worst teams landing the top picks, and putting the top four selections up for grabs instead of just the top three.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.