World Cup Notes: Brooks, Field Size, Olympic Qualifier, Bogdanovic
Dillon Brooks‘ NBA season didn’t end well, as LeBron James and the Lakers dismissed the Grizzlies in the playoffs. The offseason has gone a lot better. Brooks signed a lucrative contract with the Rockets, then he played well enough to earn Best Defensive Player honors at the FIBA World Cup, Sportando tweets.
Brooks, who played for bronze medalist Canada, enjoys his reputation as a villian, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net.
“It’s just a persona. People love him, I have grown to love him myself. It’s like Kobe created Black Mamba. That’s my persona but only on the court. I love my kids, my family, my teammates,” Brooks said.
We have more tidbits from the World Cup:
- FIBA is pleased with how an expanded field has led to more parity and unpredictability, according to The Associated Press. FIBA expanded the World Cup field to 32 teams in 2019, while 80 teams took part in the qualification process leading up to 2023’s event. “Parity is good,” FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said. “It’s good because it means competitiveness. It is excellent if it comes together with a higher level of play all the time. What we have achieved is we have reached a greater depth in the roster of countries. Nine of the 32 that came to this World Cup did not play in the previous World Cup.”
- FIBA plans to announce the hosts of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments at the end of November, Eurohoops.net relays. Those tournaments, which will determine the last four qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, will be held in early July.
- Hawks swingman and Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic helped lead his national team to a silver medal for the second time, having accomplished the feat in 2014 as well. He’s hoping to get at least one gold medal before his international career is through, according to George Efkarpides of Eurohoops.net. “I was second once. I’ll be happy to get the gold as well. To finish the tournament with a win,” he said. “Unfortunately, sometimes luck is not on your side. We missed some shots, we missed some opportunities. That’s the game of basketball. That’s how it works.”
Kings Sign, Waive Skal Labissiere
SEPTEMBER 8: The Kings have officially signed and waived Labissiere, per RealGM’s transaction log.
Stockton made a trade this week to acquire Labissiere’s G League returning rights, so he’ll get an Exhibit 10 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the NBAGL club.
AUGUST 21: The Kings are signing Skal Labissiere to a one-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The Labissiere acquisition is for the G League Stockton Kings, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. As Ham explains, the hope is that he’ll join the franchise on an Exhibit 10 contract after a trade with the Mexico City Capitanes (G League) is finalized.
Labissiere hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he saw action in 33 games with the Trail Blazers. Labissiere, the 28th pick of the 2016 draft, spent the bulk of his NBA career with Sacramento. He played 106 games for the Kings, including 41 starts.
In the last few years, he has spent time in the NBA G League, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
For his NBA career, he’s averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game in 148 appearances.
Christian Wood Signs Two-Year Contract With Lakers
SEPTEMBER 6: Wood is officially a Laker, the team announced (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
SEPTEMBER 5: Unrestricted free agent Christian Wood has agreed to a two-year contract with the Lakers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The second year includes a player option.
The Lakers’ interest in Wood was reported weeks ago and now the two parties have finally come to an agreement. Wood and the Mavericks failed to reach an extension agreement last season and Wood wound up on the open market. However, he didn’t get the type of offers normally conveyed to players who averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds during their walk year.
He had to settle for the veteran’s minimum, which is all the Lakers could offer. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link), Wood will make $2,709,849 this upcoming season and $3,036,040 in 2024/25, if he doesn’t opt out.
Wood gives the Lakers 14 players with guaranteed contracts and there’s a good chance they’ll leave the other roster spot open to maintain roster and financial flexibility.
Los Angeles already looked solid in the frontcourt and the addition of Wood gives the Lakers plenty of quality depth. He joins Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura at the power forward and center spots. LeBron James and Taurean Prince could also see minutes at the ‘4’ position.
Wood appeared in 67 games, including 17 starts, in his lone season with the Mavericks. He was acquired in an offseason deal from Houston.
Wood put up big numbers during his two seasons with the Rockets, including a career-high 21.o points per game during the 202o/21 season. He signed a three-year, $41MM contact with Houston in 2020 after a breakout season with Detroit.
The Lakers will be the eighth NBA franchise on Wood’s resume.
And-Ones: Title Threats, Ennis, Storylines, Top Coaches
Which team is the Nuggets’ biggest impediment to a second straight title? ESPN’s panel of experts believes the Bucks, Warriors, Suns and Celtics are all potential threats to a Denver repeat. As for just making the playoffs, the Mavericks, Bulls, Timberwolves and Pelicans are among a group of teams that can’t afford to fall short of postseason participation or else risk major rebuilds or superstar demands for trades.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Tyler Ennis has signed with Italy’s Gevi Napoli Basket, according to a team press release. A first-round pick in 2014, Ennis has not played in the NBA since the 2017/18 season, when he appeared in 54 Lakers games. In recent years, Ennis has played mainly in Turkey. He also had a stint with the Raptors’ G League team.
- The trade demands of James Harden and Damian Lillard, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future with the Bucks, are some of the storylines that will be closely followed this NBA season, The Athletic’s Sam Amick writes.
- Who are the top five coaches in the NBA? Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tackles that subject, ranking the Heat‘s Erik Spoelstra and the Spurs‘ Gregg Popovich first and second. The third choice may surprise some people. Cowley rates the Knicks‘ Tom Thibodeau at that spot due to his ability to take downtrodden franchises and make them playoff teams.
Southeast Notes: Hornets Roster, Spoelstra, Jovic, Avdija, Gafford
The Hornets are unlikely to add more players on guaranteed contracts before the season begins, according to general manager Mitch Kupchak, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer tweets.
After coming to terms with restricted free agent P.J. Washington, the Hornets have 13 players on fully guaranteed deals, plus another (Frank Ntilikina) on a partial guarantee. JT Thor has a non-guaranteed contract for the upcoming season.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- It’s possible that Erik Spoelstra, an assistant to Steve Kerr for Team USA, will be game-planning against Nikola Jovic and Serbia in the World Cup championship game. Heat assistant GM Adam Simon is rooting for that outcome, according to Eurohoops.net. Spoeltra already got a chance to talk to the Heat forward during the tournament. “It’s great that the two of them had a chat for a while in Manila. I hope they will meet again in the final,” Simon told Meridian Sport.
- Scouts that spoke to The Athletic’s Josh Robbins regarding Wizards forward Deni Avdija believe the Israeli can carve out a lengthy NBA career. However, the consensus opinion is that Avdija hasn’t shown enough offensively to live up to his draft status and become a difference-maker for a contender. Avdija was selected ninth overall in 2020. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer if Washington’s front office extends him a qualifying offer.
- With Kristaps Porzingis in Boston, Daniel Gafford is the only proven shot-blocker on the Wizards’ roster. That’s one reason why he could see more playing time, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Gafford is also comfortable playing at a faster pace, which the Wizards’ staff wants to implement, and ranks as their best screen-setter.
World Cup Notes: Edwards, Italy, Australia, Bertans
Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards has been the team’s top scorer for most of the World Cup but he was silent in the quarterfinals, as he produced just three points and three assists in the rout of Italy. He wasn’t upset about it afterward, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reports.
“Ant could get 30 whatever he wants, like easily,” said Mikal Bridges, who led the team with 24 points. “We talked to him and tried to help him out just to find guys, and that’s what he did. And he’s probably the happiest dude in the locker room right now.”
We have more from the World Cup:
- Italy’s coach wasn’t happy his club had to play Team USA in the quarterfinals after winning its group, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. USA finished second in its group due to the upset loss to Lithuania. “My players didn’t deserve it to play against America because we were first in our group,” Gianmarco Pozzecco said. “You need to be a little bit lucky. I think we did everything we could do in our group. … We deserve maybe a little bit better, we deserve to overcome quarterfinals.”
- Following Australia’s disappointing performance in the World Cup, CEO Matt Scriven gave head coach Brian Goorjian a vote of confidence via a press release, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. “Brian is one of the country’s most respected and qualified coaches, he is contracted until Paris and our support of him is unwavering… he will be at the helm of the Boomers,” Scriven wrote. However, there will be some other changes made prior to the Olympics. “There is no doubt we’ll have to make some tough decisions around selections but when the time is right, we’ll commence discussions with players around their availability and willingness to represent the green and gold,” Scriven wrote.
- Davis Bertans, currently on the Thunder‘s roster, has been in the NBA since 2016. Nothing he’s done in his career compares to Latvia’s success in the World Cup. Latvia advanced to the quarterfinals and will face Germany on Wednesday. “Every game playing for the national team is already up there,” he told Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.net. “And this tournament, making history for our country… I’m pretty sure that every single person [in Latvia] was at the TV screens or watching big screens somewhere in the cities watching us. We felt that energy from almost two million people.”
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 9/5/2023
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World Cup Notes: Fontecchio, Jackson Jr., Zagars, Canada
Simone Fontecchio won’t be prominent on many NBA game plans but he’s certainly a major focus for Team USA coach Steve Kerr and his staff in preparations for the quarterfinal match with Italy on Tuesday.
The second-year Jazz forward leads Italy in the tournament at 18.4 points per game. He’s also Italy’s second-leading rebounder at 6.6 per game. He had a 30-point outing against Serbia.
“I’m really happy when I can help my team. I can help my team in a lot of ways – even if I score 0 points,” he said in a story posted on FIBA’s website. “I can play defense, I can get rebounds, I can pass the ball. This team doesn’t need me to score 30, but when I do it of course I am really happy. It’s just the cherry on top. It’s certainly one of the best nights I’ve had in the national team.”
We have more from the World Cup:
- Team USA center Jaren Jackson Jr. has gotten into early foul trouble in three of the team’s five games. He knows he must be smarter, given the club’s lack of options at the position, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer. “Different rules, different hand positions at different times they call,” Jackson said. “You can be more physical, but you can’t at certain times. You just gotta be super, super careful. You have to understand you’re very, very valuable.”
- The best non-NBA player in the tournament is Latvia’s point man, Arturs Zagars, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. The 23-year-old has been set back during his career by multiple injuries. He has displayed superior distribution skills in the World Cup and has been comfortable shooting FIBA threes off the dribble. He played in the Lithuanian domestic league last season. Spain point guard Juan Nunez is the top draft prospect in the tournament, Hollinger adds.
- Canada’s win over Spain on Sunday was validation for a national team that has often come up short on the world stage, Michael Grange of Sportsnet notes. Canada’s win clinched an Olympic berth and set up a quarterfinal match against Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Wednesday.
Grizzlies Notes: Harrison, Aldama, Jackson Jr., Jenkins
The Grizzlies signed guard Shaquille Harrison to a one-year contract and he could be a factor in the early going with Ja Morant serving his suspension, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal notes. Under the terms of the CBA, any player suspended more than six games will be put on the team’s suspended list after five. That will open a roster spot, and that’s where Harrison could add more depth. He can play either guard spot and has plenty of experience after passing through six other NBA organizations.
We have more from the Grizzlies:
- Santi Aldama had a big game for Spain when his national team was eliminated in the FIBA World Cup by Canada, Cole writes. The big man poured in 20 points, though he only grabbed two rebounds in Canada’s three-point win. Jaren Jackson Jr. was plagued by foul trouble trying to check former Grizzlies teammate and Lithuanian national team center Jonas Valanciunas in Team USA’s six-point loss on Sunday.
- In a subscriber-only story, Cole opines that coach Taylor Jenkins’ future with the organization hinges on its performance in the postseason. The Grizzlies were bounced in the first round by the Lakers this past season after losing to the Warriors in the conference semifinals the previous year.
- As we previously noted, the Grizzlies already have a full roster going into training camp. Even if Harrison’s contract isn’t guaranteed, the Grizzlies will have to trim two players with guaranteed deals by opening night.
Community Shootaround: Magic Backcourt
Rookie of the Year award winner Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner could be one of the league’s top forward combinations for years to come. Wendell Carter Jrr. has a stranglehold on the starting center job.
The mystery for the Magic is how their backcourt will shake out. They’re loaded with high draft picks at the guard positions and coach Jamahl Mosley will have some tough decisions regarding his rotation, particularly at the point.
Markelle Fultz is the favorite to be the starter at the point. He appeared in 60 regular season games last season and started them all, averaging 14.0 points and 5.7 assists per night.
Cole Anthony saw extensive playing time, mostly off the bench. He averaged 13.0 points and 3.9 assists in 60 games during his third NBA season.
The Magic invested the sixth pick in a loaded draft on Arkansas’ Anthony Black. The one-and-done college player averaged 12.8 points and 3.9 assists — along with 2.1 steals — for the Razorbacks last season. It stands to reason that Black will get some immediate playing time, given his draft status.
Then there’s Jalen Suggs, the No. 5 pick of the 2021 draft. Suggs had a stellar college career at Gonzaga but his first two NBA seasons haven’t been memorable. He’s been nagged by injuries, though he still started 19 of the 53 games he played last season. Suggs averaged 9.9 PPG and 2.9 APG and will be entering a pivotal season in his NBA career. He’ll come to training camp with plenty to prove and perhaps a chip on his shoulder.
Orlando also invested a lottery pick this summer on Jett Howard. He played one season at Michigan for his father, Juwan Howard, and ran the point for the Wolverines. He averaged 14.2 points in his lone college campaign.
Gary Harris remains the likely starter at shooting guard but it’s not a given. Harris has been a steady, if unspectacular, performer during his NBA career. He started 42 of 48 games last season but only averaged 8.3 points.
Another Michigan product, Caleb Houstan, could be a bigger factor in his second NBA season. Houstan was a high second-round pick in 2022 and made 51 appearances off the bench.
Veteran Joe Ingles, a free agent acquisition, is likely to back up at the forward spots but he could play some minutes at the off-guard spot.
A couple of natural point guards could share the court, but it’s quite a puzzle for Mosley.
That brings us to our topic of the day: How do you think the Magic’s backcourt will shake out? Who will start and who will be the main reserves?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.