And-Ones: Dragic, Petrovic, Wiggins, King
In Marc Stein’s latest Substack post, he details Goran Dragic‘s retirement party and charity contest in Slovenia. Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Chris Bosh, Kevin McHale, Nikola Jokic, Robin Lopez and Boban Marjanovic were among the former and current players who made the long excursion to participate in the festivities. The longtime NBA guard announced his retirement on New Year’s Eve.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- Current NBA players Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric will participate in a game next month to remember former NBA star Drazen Petrovic, who died in a car accident in 1993. The game will be held in Zagreb on September 5, Sportando relays via a Eurohoops report. The event will be organized by Aleksandar Petrovic, the brother of the former NBA player. Drazen Petrovic averaged 15.4 points in 290 NBA games while playing for the Trail Blazers and Nets.
- Aaron Wiggins, Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Nesmith head up the list of players on team-friendly contracts for their respective clubs, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report opines. Wiggins tops the list as a rotation player for the Thunder on a five-year, $45MM deal that includes an additional $2MM in unlikely incentives. His salary also declines year-to-year, including a team option at $8MM for the 2028/29 season.
- Forward Louis King is the latest player to commit to G League United for the Fall Invitational that will take place next month, according to the G League’s Twitter feed. King played for the South Bay Lakers and had a stint in Puerto Rico after the NBA Lakers waived him last October.
Community Shootaround: Clippers’ Offseason
The Clippers’ brand new arena, the Intuit Dome, opened this week. They were hoping that by the time the building was ready, they’d have a title in hand or at least a championship-caliber club to entertain their fans.
Those plans haven’t panned out. The Clippers have been bounced in the opening round of the playoffs the past two seasons and lost one of their superstars in free agency this summer.
Paul George‘s departure to Philadelphia left the Clippers scrambling to piece together a contending club. The front office didn’t replace George with another star player.
Instead, they signed a younger forward in Derrick Jones Jr., who has been utilized mainly as a defensive stopper since he entered the league in 2016. Jones appeared in 76 regular-season games, including 66 starts, for Dallas last season. However, he was a relative afterthought on the offensive end, attempting only 6.5 shots per game in 23.5 minutes. His modest 8.6 PPG scoring average was still a career best, mainly due to the fact he got more playing time than in any previous season.
Kawhi Leonard‘s three-year extension kicks in this season but there are major questions regarding his long-term health. He dealt with right knee inflammation late in the regular season and missed four of the Clippers’ playoff games against Dallas. Leonard was replaced on the Team USA roster just prior to the Olympics due to lingering concerns about his knee.
The team’s other star, James Harden, was retained on a two-year deal. Harden averaged 16.6 points last season, his lowest figure since he was a sixth man with Oklahoma City early in his career. He will probably have to take a bigger scoring load to make up for the loss of George.
Los Angeles added some veteran frontcourt depth by signing Mohamed Bamba and Nicolas Batum. They also acquired Kris Dunn in a sign-and-trade to fortify the backcourt.
Their most eye-opening move was signing Kevin Porter Jr. in free agency. The talented but troubled young guard could be a facing a league suspension over a past domestic violence case. He may be the team’s most significant addition if all goes well — in his last season with Houston, he averaged 19.2 points and 5.7 assists per game.
That brings us to our topic of the day: Where you feel the Clippers rank in the Western Conference? Can they still be considered a playoff team or do you feel they might end up on the outside looking in?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Caboclo Receives Two-Year Offer From Israeli Club
Veteran forward Bruno Caboclo has received a two-year offer from Hapoel Tel Aviv, Eurohoops.net relays.
According to Sport 5, the offer on the table but he needs to decide quickly. He’s been given a Tuesday deadline, since the Israeli team has already begun training camp and wants to finalize its roster.
The former NBA first-rounder told the media during the Olympics that he expected to return to Serbia’s KK Partizan for another season even he had been at odds with the team’s management. He was also reportedly on the lookout for an NBA opportunity and Cavaliers scouts had an eye on him during the Olympics.
Caboclo, who has been out of the NBA since 2020/21, spent some time in Las Vegas this summer searching for an NBA offer.
Caboclo had a couple of big games in the Olympics for Brazil. He racked up 33 points and 17 rebounds in a win over Japan, then scored 30 points against Team USA in the quarterfinals.
A 6’9″ forward, Caboclo never developed into a reliable role player in the NBA, but has excelled in Europe, earning All-EuroCup Second Team honors and winning a German League (Basketball Bundesliga) championship with Ratiopharm Ulm in 2023.
Western Notes: Williamson, Edwards, Durant, Timberwolves
Zion Williamson is apparently keeping his weight down this offseason, a good sign for the Pelicans, Darryn Albert of LarryBrownSports.com relays.
Photos that surfaced online over the weekend show Williamson looking fit and trim at his basketball camp in Spartanburg, S.C. The Pelicans star appeared in a career-high 70 regular-season game last season, averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists. However, a left hamstring strain kept him out of the first-round playoff series against Oklahoma City, which the Thunder swept.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Anthony Edwards had a little fun with his gold-medal winning Olympic teammate, Kevin Durant, during a ‘Fanatics Fest’ on Saturday. The Timberwolves knocked the Suns out of the postseason and Edwards, who played the starring role in that series, joked that he felt “bad” about it. “I am not going to lie. I felt bad a little bit, only because he is my favorite player of all-time,” he said, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net, “I did not want to send him home like that. It happened, man. I felt bad.” Rest assured, Edwards didn’t feel that bad about sending KD home this past spring.
- There’s no doubt the league considers the Timberwolves one of the league’s most exciting and watchable teams, Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. In the NBA schedule released on Thursday, the Timberwolves had the biggest increase in national TV appearances. They are set to make 18 appearances on ABC, TNT or ESPN and seven more on NBA TV. Among those appearances, they are playing on opening night, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
- The Mavericks have made a front office addition. Get the details here.
Central Notes: Bulls’ Odds, Tominaga, Verden
According to VegasInsider.com, the opening odds for the Bulls’ projected win total sit at 30.5. In order to exceed that figure, the Bulls will need a few breakout seasons, The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry writes.
Coby White, Josh Giddey, Patrick Williams and Jalen Smith are some of the players in line for a statistical jump, given the state of current roster. The Bulls could get even younger as the season unfolds. They have been looking to deal Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic without success but that could change prior to next season’s trade deadline.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Pacers training camp invitee Keisei Tominaga will play for G League United at the Fall Invitational next month, the league’s PR department tweets. Tominaga, a member of Japan’s national team at the Paris Olympics, reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with Indiana after going undrafted out of Nebraska.
- The Pistons are hiring Matthew Verden as their director of grassroots scouting and intelligence, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). Verden was previously the senior manager of player personnel and strategy for the development program Overtime Elite.
- In case you missed it, the Bulls are signing Kenneth Lofton Jr. to a one-year contract. Get the details here.
Damian Lillard: ‘I’m Not A Player That’s Breaking Down’
Perennial All-Star Damian Lillard insists he’s still the same player that carved out a Hall of Fame career in Portland despite a disappointing first season with the Bucks.
“I’m not a player that’s breaking down,” Lillard told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a subscriber-only story. “I live a clean, good, healthy life, so I can do it. I can do the same (expletive) I did two, three years ago. I can do it right now.”
The uncertainty surrounding Lillard was the biggest story of last offseason. Lillard was expected to be traded to his preferred destination, Miami. Instead, the Trail Blazers dealt him to Milwaukee.
After averaging a career-best 32.2 points per game in 2022/23, his scoring output dropped to 24.3 PPG in his first season with the Bucks. That was to be expected, considering he was teaming up with another superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo but his shooting percentage was just 42.4%, including 35.4% on 3-point tries, well below his career averages.
“I think when the trade happened everybody was like, ‘Well, Milwaukee’s gonna win it,’ and I think when it didn’t always look the way they wanted it to look or thought it was gonna look, and I wasn’t looking how I looked in Portland, it was like, oh, what’s going on with Dame? Why is Dame not doing this?” he said. “But when for a greater part of the season I was still averaging about 26 points. Like, if you really think about that – what standard do y’all hold me to if I’m scoring 26 points and averaging seven assists and I’m not feeling great? I’m going through a lot of stuff. That’s just the truth.”
Injuries took a toll. During various points of the season, Liullard was dealing with calf, ankle, groin, adductor and Achilles issues. He was also going through a divorce and had to deal with playing and living in a new city after the trade finally came to fruition.
“There was a lot of change, a lot of stress, you know?” he said. “I think now, having an opportunity to get myself in order and kind of start pushing forward to next season.”
The oddsmakers peg the Bucks fourth among Eastern Conference teams heading into 2024/25, behind the defending champion Celtics, Sixers and Knicks. That’s just fine by Lillard as he continues to chase his first ring.
“The fact that we’re there and we’re under the radar is perfect because they’re gonna think nothing of us and then they’re gonna be like…You gotta face the truth, eventually. That’s how that usually works,” he said.
Knicks To Guarantee Jericho Sims’ Full Salary
Knicks center Jericho Sims will have his $2,092,344 salary fully guaranteed for the upcoming season, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link).
Friday represented the deadline for the Knicks to decide whether to fully guarantee the contract. Sims, who had a partial guarantee of $1,302,359, would have had to be waived today if New York wanted to avoid being on the hook for the rest of his salary.
Sims, a 2021 second-round pick, has appeared in 138 games during his first three NBA seasons, including 32 starts. Last season, he saw action in 45 regular-season games, including 11 starts. He averaged 2.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per contest.
Sims projects as the Knicks’ third-string center behind starter Mitchell Robinson and primary backup Precious Achiuwa. The team lost Isaiah Hartenstein to Oklahoma City in free agency.
Sims should come into training camp in better shape than the past two years. He underwent thumb surgery two summers ago, followed by shoulder surgery last offseason.
Magic’s Banchero: ‘We’re Right There’ With East’s Top Clubs
Paolo Banchero believes the Magic should be in the conversation with the Eastern Conference’s top teams, he declared on ESPN’s First Take (hat tip to Dan Savage of NBA.com).
“We feel like we’re right there,” the Magic’s star forward said. “We’re right there with all those (elite teams in the East). I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-two, top-three seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the fifth seed and had a chance to really grab the two seed at the end of the season. We were right there last year.”
Orlando finished with a 47-35 regular-season mark and was eliminated by the Cavaliers in the opening round of the playoffs.
The best-of-seven series went the distance and Banchero showed why he’d been named an All-Star in February. He averaged 27.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game during the postseason.
Banchero viewed it as a learning experience.
“I learned how to kind of slow the game down in the playoffs,” he said. “The first two games of the series in Cleveland, I felt a little sped up. I turned the ball over a lot. From Games 1 and 2 to Game 3, I think that’s where I made that jump, that adjustment and started to really slow the game down. I started to be really intentional (and) pick my spots on the floor to score and play-make.
“I also learned that you have to be in elite shape – not only physically, but mentally (in order) to deal with a seven-game series. It’s fun to go against the same team over and over, but it’s also a huge challenge. I think that’s something I took and will definitely use for next year.”
The Magic should be a more dangerous playoff team with the addition of shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Orlando brought in the former Nuggets wing on a three-year, $66MM deal in one of the biggest free agent signings this summer.
“Getting KCP is going to help us a lot,” Banchero said. “That’s a guy that’s won two championships in the last five seasons. He’s been around some of the greatest (players) of all-time. So, he’s going to be able to come out and make a huge difference for us. (Also), we’re a really young team and getting that playoff experience (and) a top-five seed last year (gives us) a lot of momentum heading into next season.”
Banchero, who doesn’t turn 22 until November, has lived up to his billing as the top overall pick in 2022. Orlando surprised many people by picking Banchero at that spot after his one-and-done season with Duke.
He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer and it’s a lock that he’ll get a max offer from the Magic.
“Orlando took a chance on me when they drafted me, and I am forever grateful for that,” he said. “I give them my love and respect for that because nobody knew that I was going to go number one. I didn’t know I was going to go number one. So, they put the trust in me to take that chance and take me number one. After that, I felt like it was my job to help them reach heights that haven’t been reached in a long time … We’re trying to take (a huge) jump next year and keep taking it one level at a time.”
Banchero’s appearance on the ESPN show can be viewed here.
International Notes: FIBA Rankings, Jenkins, Embiid, Williams
The results of the Paris Olympics led to some movement in the FIBA rankings, according to a press release from the organization. The USA remains at the top spot, with Serbia – which narrowly lost Team USA in the semifinals – moving up from No. 4 to No. 2.
Germany, the 2023 FIBA World Cup champions, remained at No. 3, while France leaped five notches to No. 4. Canada moved up two slots to round out the top five.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- Former NBA guard John Jenkins has signed with Tofas in Turkey, according to Sportando. Jenkins spent the last two seasons with the G League Ignite, appearing in a total of 43 games. He averaged 17.5 points in 16 regular season games last season. Jenkins hasn’t appeared in an NBA contest since the 2018/19 season, when he played a total of 26 games with the Knicks and Wizards.
- Joel Embiid has been awarded the Medal of Commander of the Order of Valor by his native Cameroon in recognition of his Olympic gold medal, according to a TMZ report (hat tip to Eurohoops.net). Embiid moved to the U.S. when he was 16. Cameroon may have had an ulterior motive for celebrating Embiid — he hinted at the possibility of representing his homeland at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, though that switch would require USA Basketball and FIBA to sign off.
- Former Clippers and Timberwolves guard C.J. Williams has signed with Poland’s Start Lublin, Sportando relays. Williams, who played in Romania last season, appeared in a total of 53 NBA games from 2017-19.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Randle, Achiuwa, Robinson, Brunson, Star Power
Could OG Anunoby and Julius Randle play some minutes together at the power forward and center spots for the Knicks? The Athletic’s Fred Katz explores this possibility.
While head coach Tom Thibodeau has been reluctant to use Randle in the middle due to lack of rim protection, the Knicks’ current personnel could make it more feasible, Katz notes. Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are two of the top defensive wings in the league, making rim protection less essential. The Knicks could have Anunoby guard opposing centers in those lineups, while Randle would serve as the center on the offensive end, setting screens and hunting for offensive rebounds.
We have Knicks-related tidbits:
- If Mitchell Robinson misses games, Precious Achiuwa will likely take his spot in the starting lineup, Katz opines in the same mailbag. Like Randle, Achiuwa isn’t an ideal rim protector, but he’s adept at defending switches. Once again, Anunoby could wind up guarding centers in these lineups. Katz noted that Anunoby defended Joel Embiid during a playoff game when Robinson was sidelined and Isaiah Hartenstein was in foul trouble.
- Randle’s recovery from right shoulder surgery appears to be going according to plan, per Ian Begley of SNY TV. While Randle may not be ready at the start of training camp, he’s on track to return by the season opener or shortly thereafter. Jalen Brunson‘s recovery from hand surgery also appears to be progressing well and Begley anticipates the All-NBA guard will be a full go by training camp.
- There’s less certainty about Robinson being available for camp, Begley adds. Robinson underwent ankle surgery in mid-May and he has not been given clearance for high-intensity weight-bearing activities. He’ll need to clear several hurdles before he’s allowed to participate in camp.
- In terms of star power, New York ranks fourth among Eastern Conference contenders, Zach Braziller of the New York Post opines. While they have their share of stars, the Knicks fall below Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Boston in that regard. However, Braziller rates the Knicks at the top of the conference in the coaching category and second behind Boston in intangibles.