And-Ones: World Cup, China, Thabeet
In a special piece for ESPN, Mark Woods takes an in-depth look (link) at all 32 teams vying to win the 2019 FIBA World Cup, which will be decided in Beijing on September 15, two weeks from today.
While recognizing that Team USA is the favorite, Woods does not have the Americans taking home the championship. His group winners include host nation China and the aforementioned U.S., in addition to Argentina, Spain, Serbia, Greece, France, and Australia.
Woods believes that all but two of the group winners will reach the quarterfinals, with Nigeria and Lithuania, finishing second in group play to Argentina and Australia respectively, replacing group winners France and China among the final eight teams.
Ultimately, Woods sees Team USA falling short of the championship game, with Australia falling to Serbia in the final. Be sure to tell us what you think in one of our latest Community Shootaround posts, here.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Chinese Basketball Association is implementing a new guideline barring a player who is serving a drug or violence-related ban/suspension in another league from signing in the CBA. As Charania notes, the rule would prohibit someone like Tyreke Evans from signing with a team in the CBA.
- After losing their first game in the 2019 FIBA World Cup to Matthew Dellavedova and Australia, Canada head coach Nick Nurse told the media that his team will have to play “extraordinary basketball” to beat Lithuania on Tuesday and advance past group play, per Lithuanian basketball reporter Donatas Urbonas (h/t to Sportando).
- After working out for the Knicks once already (link), former No, 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet will continue to play in 5-on-5 scrimmages with the Knicks next week, reports Ian Begley of SportsNet New York. Begley adds that Thabeet will also work out a second time for the Bucks in about a week’s time.
Ben Moore To Play In Turkey
Ben Moore, who recently worked out for the Suns, will play in Istanbul this upcoming season, with Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reporting that the 24-year-old forward has signed with Galatasaray S.K. of the Turkish Basketball Super League.
Moore, who reportedly performed admirably for the USA Basketball Select Team in several scrimmages against the Team USA 2019 FIBA World Cup Squad, has spent most of his young career in the G League, averaging 12.5 PPG and 8.0 RPG in two seasons (90 games) with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2017/18) and Austin Spurs (2018/19).
Moore has also appeared in two NBA games, both with the Pacers as a rookie during the 2017/18 season. He played a total of nine minutes and posted a rebound and an assist but did not score any points.
Five Key Stories: 8/24/19 – 8/31/19
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:
After an 
ex-girlfriend/mother of DeMarcus Cousins’ child accused the injured Lakers’ center of threatening her life, an arrest warrant was issued for the 29-year-old former All-NBA performer. Cousins, who allegedly made the threat after the woman refused to allow the former couple’s seven-year-old son to attend Cousins’ wedding, is accused of telling Christy West that he would “put a bullet through [her] f—ing head.” Both the Lakers and the NBA are currently performing investigations of the matter.
Nets swingman Caris LeVert signed a rookie scale extension worth $52.5MM over three years. The deal, which will go into effect during the 2020/21 season, will pay the 25-year-old LeVert $16.2MM, $17.5MM, and $18.8MM through the 2022/23 season. The deal will essentially use up all of Brooklyn’s cap space for next summer, but with an expected weak free agent class of 2020, that shouldn’t be an issue for a team that just signed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan this summer.
The Rockets and shooting guard Eric Gordon have reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension worth $75.6MM. The deal, which will go into effect during the 2020/21 season, will pay the 30-year-old Gordon $16.9MM, $18.2MM, $19.6MM, and $20.9MM through the 2023/24 season. Gordon’s 2023/24 salary is non-guaranteed, becoming fully guaranteed if the Rockets win a championship or Gordon is named an All-Star. As a result of the deal, Gordon can’t be traded during the 2019/20 season.
Nets forward Wilson Chandler has been hit with a 25-game suspension after testing positive for Ipamorelin, a banned performance-enhancing drug. Wilson released a statement accepting responsibility, claiming that he was prescribed the drug during an injury rehabilitation process and that at the time, he was not aware that it was a banned substance. The suspension will cost Chandler nearly $600K in salary.
Pelicans forward Darius Miller underwent surgery earlier this week to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. No recovery timetable was provided by New Orleans, but it’s certainly possible that the 29-year-old veteran will miss the entire 2019/20 campaign. The earliest conceivable return date is probably late March to early April 2020.
Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:
- In addition to the Clippers and Hornets, the Bucks have also shown interest in free agent shooting guard Jodie Meeks.
- Big man Dwight Howard has officially signed a fully non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Lakers.
- Free agent point guard Jeremy Lin has signed overseas with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.
- The Warriors have signed free agent guard Andrew Harrison to a training camp deal.
- Free agent shooting guard J.R. Smith passed on a a contract offer from a team in the Chinese Basketball Association.
- Originally thought to be contemplating retirement, Jose Calderon says he’s still waiting on an NBA offer and is continuing to train and focus on staying in shape for the upcoming season.
- BIG3 player and former NBA All-Star Joe Johnson recently worked out for the Sixers, with other teams also showing interest.
- In other workout news, former big men Spencer Hawes and Hasheem Thabeet worked out for the Sixers (story) and Knicks (story), respectively.
- The Warriors have hired longtime NBA big man Zaza Pachulia and two-time champion with the franchise as a team consultant.
- The Thunder and free agent center Eric Moreland have agreed to a training camp contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 8/24/19 – 8/31/19
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:
- This week in our Community Shootaround discussions, we focused on:
- The best available free agent big men, including Nene, Joakim Noah, and others.
- Players like Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown, and others who are eligible to sign rookie scale extensions this offseason.
- Whether Nuggets’ rookie Michael Porter Jr. can play a role on a contending team this season.
- How the BIG3 could become a summer showcase for players hoping for a return to the NBA.
- The five teams who could give Team USA a run for their money at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
- Luke Adams analyzed the amount of “dead money” each NBA franchise is carrying for the 2019/20 season.
- In this week’s Polls, we asked:
- Will the Pistons make the playoffs? 60% of you said that they will.
- Will Team USA win the 2019 FIBA World Cup? Over 60% of you said yes, but over 41% of you said that Team USA will lose at least one game.
- We began a breakdown of the status of every team’s second-round picks for the 2020 NBA Draft.
- This year’s Remaining Offseason Questions series began with the Eastern Conference:
- Luke Adams took a look at the NBA players who are headed overseas for the 2019/20 season.
- We provided an up-to-date list of all NBA players who will or could become free agents in the summer of 2021.
- Who are the NBA’s highest-paid players for the 2019/20 season? Find out right here. What about by team? We also have that list, here.
- October 31 is the last day for teams to exercise team options on the rookie scale contracts of former first-round picks. Check out the decisions on tap for Halloween 2019.
Community Shootaround: Biggest World Cup Competition For USA?
Danny Chau of The Ringer has taken a look at the five teams he opines have the best chance to knock off Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He notes that Team USA is still the favorite, but it’s become clear that the playing field is more level than it’s been in a long while.
In Chau’s view, the biggest threat is Serbia, led by one of the top players in the tournament – Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. USA’s opponent in the 2016 Olympic gold medal game, Serbia has a very tall roster that includes Boban Marjanovic, Nemanja Bjelica, and Bogdan Bogdanovic in addition to Jokic.
In addition to Serbia, Chau lists France (led by Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and Frank Ntilikina), Greece (led by NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo), Spain (led by Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio), and Lithuania (led by Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis).
We want to know what you think. Will Team USA have trouble with one of the aforementioned teams? Will they win another Gold? With another team not listed above be the surprise of the 2019 FIBA World Cup and knock off Team USA? Please leave your responses in the space below.
Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Iguodala, Melli
After years of whiffing in free agency, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer writes that the Mavericks may have finally got it right this summer despite not signing rumored targets Kemba Walker or Al Horford.
The difference this time around? The Mavericks already had their stars in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, so supporting cast acquisitions like Delon Wright and Seth Curry made more sense than finally signing the big free agent fish.
And, with the NBA beginning to highlight more twosomes as opposed to threesomes like what the Heat did back in the early 2010s, Doncic (20) and Porzingis (24) could have the brightest future of any pairings because of their youth.
There’s more notes to pass along from the Southwest Division:
- Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian opines that the Dwight Howard buyout with the Grizzlies may have set a baseline amount for a potential Andre Iguodala buyout sometime before or during the 2019/20 season.
- In a player profile piece for the upcoming season, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News highlights how the aforementioned Wright could fit nicely alongside Doncic for the Mavericks.
- Speaking to Italian newspaper il Resto del Carlino (h/t to Sportando), Pelicans rookie forward Nicolo Melli spoke about his decision to leave Europe to come to the NBA. “(M)y agent Matteo Comellini sent me a message with the proposal made by the Pelicans. I felt a strong vibration. The same I had two years ago the first time I spoke with coach (Zeljko) Obradovic.” Melli says the choice to come to the NBA was never about money.
Southeast Notes: Washington, Butler, Beal, Heat
Hornets‘ rookie forward PJ Washington, the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is ready for training camp after a nagging foot injury that kept him out of summer league, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
“I’m pretty much cleared to do everything,” Washington said. “After summer league, it was about two weeks.”
As Bonnell notes, head coach James Borrego relayed back in July, the day before leaving for Las Vegas, that the Hornets were taking the precaution of shutting down Washington for summer league after pain in Washington’s left foot which caused him to miss two NCAA tournament games with Kentucky lingered upon his entry into the NBA.
Washington, who is expected to line up mostly at power forward this upcoming season, may see some time in the G League with both Marvin Williams and Miles Bridges already set to see a plethora of playing time at the four.
There’s more from the Southeast Division this evening:
- Per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, it’s very important for new Heat superstar Jimmy Butler to come into training camp ready to be the team leader, a role he struggled with in his previous NBA stops.
- According to Rachel Hopmayer of NBC Sports Washington, Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal refused to sit out last season when playoff hope was lost because – as he told head coach Scott Brooks – he signed up to be the leader of the Wizards and do it every night.
- Winderman adds in a separate piece that the Heat, because they are not in contention mode, should focus on developing players based on where their potential lies, not on current talent level.
Tyler Dorsey Signs With Maccabi Tel Aviv
As first reported by Israeli basketball reporter Roi Cohen a few days ago (Twitter link), shooting guard Tyler Dorsey has signed a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and EuroLeague, per a release from the team’s official Twitter account.
Dorsey, 23, was originally drafted by the Hawks out of Oregon back in 2017, where he played for Atlanta during the 2017/18 season and part of last season. On the day of the trade deadline, February 7, he was shipped to Memphis in exchange for veteran point guard Shelvin Mack.
Dorsey, who also saw time with the Memphis Hustle after the trade, performed well for the Grizzlies, averaging 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game in 21 contests (11 starts). However, the Grizzlies opted not to extend Dorsey a qualifying offer this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Dorsey will join fellow ex-NBA players Omri Casspi, Quincy Acy, and Tarik Black on what should now be a relatively strong 2019/20 roster for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Nets CEO Brett Yormark Stepping Down
Brett Yormark, the lead executive for both the Nets and Barclays Center, is stepping down as the team’s top executive ahead of an impending ownership change that will see Taiwanese businessman Joseph Tsai become the franchise’s owner, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.
Jonathan Isaac Talks USA Select Team, Weight Gain, Upcoming Season
After an improved sophomore season in which the upstart Magic made the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Jonathan Isaac has spent this summer trying to improve his game to another level as he readies himself for his third season. The 21-year-old forward recently sat down with Josh Robbins of The Athletic to discuss a variety of topics, including his experience with the USA Select Team this summer.
“It was fantastic… USA Basketball, the NBA, they do a fantastic job with all their events,” Isaac said. “I thought the Select Team was just another thing that they do really well. Just to be able to hang out with guys that we played against all year, get to know them a little better, practice with them — it was just fun. It was fun to learn. It was fun to compete.”
Since the end of the 2018/19 season, Isaac has increased the weight on his long, lanky frame from a mere 209 pounds to 234 pounds. It remains unclear whether Isaac will be able to keep 25 pounds of extra weight on during a marathon NBA season, but he liked the way his new body felt while scrimmaging against Team USA.
“Just being able to have a little more size on me down in the paint is going to help a lot,” he said. “I’m going to continue to finish out the summer working hard. I feel good right now. I feel good about where I’m at game-wise, body-wise, everything.”
Isaac also spoke on the expectations he has for the 2019/20 season after a successful 2018/19 campaign in Orlando. The roster remains intact and head coach Steve Clifford is now in his second season at the helm.
“I think we’re going to have a fantastic year… I just want the fans to be excited about it because I know we are,” Isaac said. “Going into our second season with Coach Cliff and everything that happened in that first year, just riding that into the next season, I think, is going to be great. I’m just looking forward to it, looking forward to having fun.”