Atlantic Notes: Smart, Williams, Diop, Nets, White
Celtics starters Marcus Smart and Robert Williams are listed as questionable for Game 6 on Friday, the team tweets. It’s the same injury designation they had for Game 5.
Smart wound up playing 24 minutes on Wednesday despite his right ankle sprain and Williams made it through 27 minutes on his sore left knee.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- DeSagana Diop is the new head coach of the G League’s Westchester Knicks, Marc Stein tweets. Diop was represented by Knicks president Leon Rose when Rose was a player agent. Diop has assistant coaching experience with the Jazz and, most recently, the Rockets.
- It has been reported that the Nets will likely defer the first-rounder owed by the Sixers from this year to next summer. However, that doesn’t mean the Nets will hold onto it and draft a rookie next summer, according to Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. They might instead use it to facilitate an in-season trade next season to address injuries or roster shortcomings.
- The deadline deal that sent Derrick White from San Antonio to Boston has proven to be crucial to the Celtics in their postseason run, Brian Windhorst of ESPN notes. They have registered blowout wins in two of the three games Smart has missed during the playoffs and having White at their disposal was a key to those successes. The Spurs acquired Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, the Celtics’ 2022 first-round pick, and the conditional right to swap first-round picks with Boston in 2028 in exchange for White.
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Draft Notes: Lofton Jr., Bynum, Brooks, Delaire
Louisiana Tech forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. has decided to remain in the draft, he revealed on his Twitter page. Lofton, who was named to the All-Conference USA first team, averaged 16.5 PPG and 10.5 RPG in 33 games last season as a sophomore. Lofton is not currently projected to be drafted, but turned some heads at the G League Elite Camp.
We have more draft decisions:
- Providence’s Jared Bynum is withdrawing his name and returning to the Friars next season, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. The junior guard averaged 12.2 PPG and 4.0 APG last season.
- Kentucky forward Keion Brooks is removing his name from consideration, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. Brooks, who is in the transfer portal, started 33 games for the Wildcats and averaged 10.8 PPG and 4.4 RPG.
- San Diego forward Jaiden Delaire, a Stanford transfer, is also withdrawing from the draft, Rothstein adds in another tweet. He averaged 10.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG while starting 26 of 32 games for the Cardinal last season.
Hawks Notes: Bogdanovic, Draft Workout, Trade Tiers
Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s lingering knee issue will likely prevent the Hawks wing from participating with the Serbian National Team in the EuroBasket tournament during September, according to MozzartSport.com (hat tip to Eurohoops.net). Bogdanovic, who was limited to 63 regular-season games, played through the pain in the first round of the playoffs, and MozzartSport’s report suggests offseason surgery is a possibility.
We have more on the Hawks:
- Atlanta took a look at six draft prospects on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. That group included Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), AJ Green (Northern Iowa), Jordan Hall (St. Joe’s), Tyrese Martin (UConn), Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State/Creighton Commit) and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas). Most are considered marginal second-round prospects.
- Trae Young is the lone untouchable on the roster, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic writes as he breaks down the rest of Atlanta’s assets into trade tiers. The Hawks’ list of “splashy trade pieces” includes John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu and all the first-round picks they own.
- In case you missed it, the Hawks are one of the teams that have been linked to unrestricted free agent Zach LaVine.
Mavericks Notes: Doncic, Kidd, Fines, Offseason
Luka Doncic poured in 40 points in Game 3 but he still had a team-worst plus-minus when he was on the floor. Doncic admits the Western Conference Finals has turned into a learning experience for him and his Mavericks teammates, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes.
“I’m still learning,” Doncic said. “I think the first two quarters, I played very bad. That’s on me. But I’m still learning. I think after this season is done, whatever we are, I think we’re going to look back and learn a lot of things. It’s my first time in the conference finals in the NBA. I’m 23, man. I’m still learning a lot.”
Jason Kidd had a similar take on his team falling behind 3-0 in the series.
“This is just the beginning of this journey,” Kidd said. “I know you guys had us winning the championship before the season started. And that’s a joke if you didn’t get it. But this is a lot bigger than just this one game or this one series. This is huge for our franchise because none of you guys had us here.”
We have more on the Mavericks:
- The franchise has racked up $175K in fines for bench decorum violations during the postseason. The league believes the conduct of the Mavs bench impacts player safety, competitiveness and fan consideration, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports. After the season, the NBA will explore ways to address bench decorum during games in real time, Zillgitt adds. Dallas bench players standing up for long periods of time and an incident in which Stephen Curry made a turnover because the Mavs’ Theo Pinson was wearing a white shirt on the bench were particularly irksome to league officials.
- How can Dallas reach Golden State’s level in the future? One area to upgrade is center, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer opines. Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber have been unable to stop the Warriors from attacking the basket. The Mavericks also needs more perimeter threats around Doncic, according to O’Connor, who believes the Mavs should pursue the likes of Rudy Gobert, Jusuf Nurkic and Deandre Ayton at center and/or consider a sign-and-trade for Zach LaVine. They also shouldn’t rule out a sign-and-trade involving Jalen Brunson, O’Connor writes.
- The Doncic-Curry matchup is an apples to oranges comparison because they’re at different stages of their careers and play in different systems, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News writes. Doncic is also surrounded by mainly spot-up shooters while the Warriors have a multitudes of creators around Curry in their rotation.
Pacific Notes: Johnson, Westbrook, Lakers, Kings, Loucks, Ayton
Magic Johnson believes it’s crucial for the next Lakers coach to figure out how to maximize Russell Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as he told David Aldridge of The Athletic. Johnson doubts Westbrook’s hefty contract will deliver a palatable package in a trade, so the new coach will need to figure out how best to use the veteran guard in order for the Lakers to make a postseason run next season.
“Well, it only can work, if you’ve got the coach — the right coach. To me, it still comes down to, who’s the coach?” the former Lakers president said. “And, then, also, he’s on a one-year, $47 million (contract with a player option). Even if you offer him (in a trade), what are you, realistically, going to get back? I told them this too — you’re going to get some contracts you probably don’t want, and they’re going to go (chronologically) past his contract. You’ve really got to think about that.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers have supposedly narrowed their list of potential candidates to replace Frank Vogel to three — Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson. However, Marc Stein reports in a Substack piece that a source close to the situation believes the list under consideration is “still wider” than that trio. Other prominent names could surface or candidates already interviewed for the job may reemerge.
- Luke Loucks has agreed to join Mike Brown’s staff with the Kings, Marc J. Spears of ESPN tweets. Loucks currently works for the Suns in basketball strategy and personnel evaluation. Loucks previously worked with Brown in Golden State and with the Nigerian national team.
- Deandre Ayton‘s agent, Bill Duffy, said in a SiriuxXM NBA Radio interview (Twitter link) that they were “disappointed” the Suns didn’t offer him a max contract extension. However, Duffy is confident his client will get a substantial offer this summer. “Things will work out for Deandre,” Duffy said. “He’s a valuable player and there’s other teams in the league as well. He’s a restricted free agent, so we’ll see how this process unfolds.”
Marcus Smart Won’t Play In Game 4
Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart will miss Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday due to swelling in his sprained right ankle, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
It’s a huge blow for the Celtics, who are trying to even the series after losing Game 3 at home. Smart also missed Game 1 of the series, then played heavy minutes in Games 2 and 3.
He racked up 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds and three steals in Boston’s 127-102 Game 2 victory while playing 40 minutes. He fouled out after 37 minutes in Game 3 while posting 16 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four turnovers in 37 minutes.
Center Robert Williams, who missed Game 3 with knee soreness, is listed as available to play by the team, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith will likely get increased court time in Smart’s absence. White will take Smart’s place in the starting lineup.
As reported earlier, Heat sixth man Tyler Herro is out with a groin injury. Jimmy Butler (right knee inflammation), Kyle Lowry (left hamstring strain), Max Strus (right hamstring strain), P.J. Tucker (left knee irritation) and Gabe Vincent (left hamstring strain) all intend to play after being listed as questionable.
Robert Williams Likely To Play In Game 4
Looking to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics will likely have their starting center back in action. Robert Williams is expected to play in Game 4 tonight, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Williams, a Second Team All-Defensive selection, missed Game 3 due to knee soreness. His defensive presence was missed as the Heat jumped to a 21-point first-quarter lead and shot 46.7% from the field for the game in their 109-103 victory at Boston. Williams played only 20 minutes in Boston’s Game 2 win but had 18 points and nine rebounds in Game 1.
Williams, who underwent knee surgery late in the regular season, only played in the first three games of the conference semifinals against Milwaukee. Boston has gone smaller with Al Horford and Grant Williams manning the power positions a majority of the time against the Heat.
New York Notes: Brunson, Stoudemire, Baldwin, Sotto
The Knicks’ top executive, Leon Rose, needs to go all out this summer to sign free agent Jalen Brunson, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. The Knicks settled for Kemba Walker last summer instead of engaging in an all-out bidding war for Fred VanVleet. The same mistake can’t be made this time around, in Vaccaro’s view, so Rose must figure out a way to clear more cap space and give Brunson a competitive offer. Vaccaro also notes Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson, was Rose’s first ever client as a player agent.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Amar’e Stoudemire clarified comments he made on ESPN shows regarding Kyrie Irving and the Nets organization in an Instagram post (hat tip to Chris Milholen of NetsDaily.com). Stoudemire told coach Steve Nash he was leaving his post as a player development coach due to his religious obligations prior to his TV appearances and has no issue with Nash or GM Sean Marks. He also said he wasn’t trying to blast Irving when he said Irving “hurt us” due to his lack of availability during the season. “You’re not going to turn me against Kyrie. You’re not going to turn me against the Nets. You’re not going to turn me against anyone. So you can forget about it,” Stoudemire said.
- The Knicks have quietly added Vince Baldwin — a longtime Nike talent scout — as a “talent evaluator,” Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Baldwin has extensive contacts in the high school and college ranks and is close with Knicks senior executive William Wesley. The Knicks also hired Tim Hardaway Sr. as a scout without making an official announcement.
- Center prospect Kai Sotto will work out for the Knicks on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. The 7’3” big man from the Philippines spent last season in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 7.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG for the Adelaide 36ers.
Draft Notes: Diabate, Branham, Davis, Moore
Following a strong showing at the Draft Combine this week, Michigan freshman forward Moussa Diabate is mulling whether to return to school or go pro, Matt Charboneau of the Detroit News writes.
“It’s a situation where I feel like I’ll be able to rise and get better,” Diabate said. “I don’t want to just go in there and just end up staying in the league for three years and just get out. I’m trying to get something where the structure is going to be solid and it’s going to help me grow as a man and as a basketball player.”
Diabate is ranked just 67th on ESPN’s Best Available board but may have improved his stock since the latest update. Diabate averaged 9.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG as a freshman.
We have more draft-related notes:
- Malaki Branham created more buzz at the combine than any other player and it’s likely he’ll go in the lottery, Mike Babcock of Basketball News tweets. The Ohio State shooting guard is currently ranked No. 14 on ESPN’s Best Available list. He averaged 13.7 PPG for the Buckeyes as a freshman and made 41.6% of his 3-point attempts.
- Kendric Davis is withdrawing from the draft and will play for Memphis next season, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Davis averaged 19.4 PPG and 4.4 APG for SMU last season.
- Isaih Moore is also withdrawing from the draft, Rothstein adds in another tweet. Previously at St. John’s and Southern Miss, Moore will transfer to Fresno State.