Atlantic Notes: Reddish, Knicks, Williams, Maxey
Forward Cam Reddish has been at the Knicks’ training center over the past week and has started basketball activities, including light shooting, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.
Reddish, who was acquired by the Knicks from Atlanta in January, saw his season end prematurely in early March when he suffered a separated right shoulder. As a former first-round pick entering his fourth season, Reddish is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.
In 15 games (14.3 MPG) with the Knicks, Reddish put up modest totals of 6.1 PPG and 1.4 RPG on .415/.258/.906 shooting.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The realistic goal for the Knicks to upgrade their roster is to put the pieces in place to trade for a top-level player, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. In terms of the draft, if the Knicks don’t move up in the lottery, Hollinger believes they ought to target Australian guard Dyson Daniels. Daniels who played in the G League has a pass-first mentality and the ability to guard multiple positions.
- Celtics center Robert Williams is listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 6 against the Bucks, Jared Weiss tweets. Williams averaged 23.3 MPG in the first three games of the series but sat out the last two games.
- Tyrese Maxey was surprised he slipped to No. 21 in the 2020 draft, the spot where the Sixers snapped him up, as he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. He thought he might go as high as No. 11 to the Spurs. He also thought the Magic at No. 15 and the Heat at No. 20 would take him. “Miami, Orlando and San Antonio. Those were the three teams I thought would draft me,” Maxey said. “When I started slipping, I was upset, but I kept reminding myself that my dream of getting drafted was coming true.”
James Harden On Player Option: I’ll Be Here
Following his disappointing performance in the decisive Game 6 of the Sixers’ playoff series against Miami, James Harden was asked if he’ll opt in to the final year of his contract, Derek Bodner of The Daily Six newsletter tweets.
“I’ll be here,” Harden said after Philadelphia’s 99-90 loss and elimination.
Harden, who has a $47.366MM option on the final year of his contract, indicated back in February that he plans to opt in. He could also decline the option and sign a new contract with the 76ers.
There has been plenty of speculation whether the Sixers would pursue extension talks with Harden after the blockbuster trade with the Nets. Harden’s lack of production in the postseason has put the Sixers in a difficult spot.
Harden, who would be in the final year of a four-year, $171MM contract if he picks up his option, suggested he’d be open to taking less than the max in an extension. Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice tweets.
“Whatever it takes to help this team continue to grow,” he said.
Harden resembled his old superstar self in Game 4 of the series, piling up 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. He had 22 points and 15 rebounds in the playoff clincher against Toronto.
Otherwise, he didn’t produce at the level Philadelphia hoped. Harden took only two shots in the second half and scored just 11 total points in 43 minutes on Thursday in the Sixers’ last game of the year.
Central Notes: LaVine, Pacers Workouts, White, Pistons Draft
Zach LaVine‘s decision to have knee surgery in the offseason shows his commitment to the game and the Bulls, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. LaVine’s decision to play through his knee injury this season with Chicago heading to the playoffs proved how much he wanted to experience the postseason for himself and give his teammates a chance to do the same. He’ll still get paid this summer in unrestricted free agency, likely a maximum deal, Johnson adds.
We have more on the Central Division:
- The Pacers will host a pre-draft workout for six prospects on Friday, including Michigan forward Moussa Diabate, according to Pacers.com. Utah Valley center Fardaws Aimaq, USC guard Boogie Ellis, Saint Joseph’s guard Jordan Hall, Davidson forward Hyunjung Lee and Memphis forward Josh Minott will be the other participants.
- Coby White‘s situation with the Bulls will be worth watching closely this offseason, according to Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. If the team’s front office decides not to pursue extension talks with White, he could be one of their main trade pieces. White, who ended the season in a shooting slump, will be a restricted free agent next offseason if he’s not signed to an extension.
- If the Pistons don’t move up in the lottery, they could wind up trading their pick, James Edwards III of The Athletic speculates. If a young All-Star guard likes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Donovan Mitchell is made available, the Pistons would listen. However, if they can draft a top prospect like Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith, they’ll keep the pick, Edwards adds.
Iguodala Out At Least One More Week; Porter Jr. Questionable
The Warriors have ruled out Andre Iguodala for the remainder of the series against the Grizzlies due to his neck injury, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Iguodala will be reevaluated in a week, which means he’d also miss the start of the conference finals if the Warriors advance.
The veteran swingman, who only appeared in 31 regular season games due to injuries, hasn’t played since Game 4 of the opening round series against Denver.
Iguodala, 38, is on a veteran’s minimum contract and will be a free agent again at the end of the season.
Otto Porter Jr. is listed as questionable for Game 6 on Friday due to right foot soreness, Slater adds in another tweet. Porter played just 12 minutes in Game 5 after contributing double-digit points in the previous two games.
Amar’e Stoudemire To Leave Nets Job, Criticizes Irving
Amar’e Stoudemire is leaving his post with the Nets and said the franchise needs to take a harder stance with star guard Kyrie Irving.
Stoudemire worked under head coach Steve Nash as a player development assistant this season.
Stoudemire made his comments on ESPN’s morning talk shows. He appeared on both the Get Up show with Mike Greenberg and the First Take show with Stephen A. Smith and Jay Williams (hat tip to NetsDaily.com).
Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated played a large part in the Nets’ demise, according to Stoudemire.
“Yeah, I think it hurt us. It definitely hurt us because we didn’t have consistency enough with Kyrie to build chemistry with the group, with the team,” he said. “He’s playing only away games depending which city it is … can’t play in New York … therefore we had different lineups, different matchups depending on the game schedule. So it made it difficult for us coaches to figure out who’s going to play in spite of Kyrie.”
Stoudemire, a former All-Star forward/center, said Irving has to make a greater commitment to the franchise in order to solidify his superstar status. Irving was left off the NBA’s 75th anniversary Top 75 squad.
“I feel Kyrie has to make a commitment himself to the game of basketball. on how committed he is to being a great player because I feel like Kyrie should have been on the Top 75 list,” Stoudemire said. “But at the same time, you have to now take that as motivation going into next season and proving, prove to yourself that you are a top player and do it consistently throughout the season. “
Irving is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent this summer. Stoudemire believes that GM Sean Marks needs to get assurances about Irving’s commitment before re-signing the enigmatic guard. Marks indicated that his conversations with Irving this summer will include whether Irving is motivated to playing regularly going forward.
“You can say you’re available and ready to play next season, but are you actually going to do that or are you going to renege on that and not play and if that’s the case you’d have this situation where he says he’s going to be available but he doesn’t, now what do we do? So now you have to negotiate that into the contract, in the writing, try to figure out a way to have the writing set in the contract to where if he doesn’t play these things happen,” Stoudemire said.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 5/12/2022
Check out the transcript of our weekly Thursday live chat here.
Our next live chat, with Luke Adams, will take place on Tuesday at noon Central time.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Brunson, Rivers, Gobert
Sixers center Joel Embiid won’t win the Most Valuable Player award, but he’s got a bigger goal to chase, as he told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
“Winning a championship is the biggest thing,” the Sixers star said. “And I’ll be honest, I never thought I would be at this level. Coming into the league, I was always like, ‘I’ve got to get a Defensive Player of the Year.’ My defense was always my focus. I’m like, ‘Defensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year,’ and then, over the years, I’ve gotten (better) offensively.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Jalen Brunson‘s strong postseason is bad news for the Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Brunson will be headed to unrestricted free agency and it’s unlikely the Knicks can open up cap space to entice Brunson to jump ship. One league source told Berman it would be shocking if Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn’t re-sign the fourth-year point guard.
- There’s no reason for the Sixers to fire Doc Rivers if they don’t go deeper into the postseason, Joe Vardon of The Athletic argues. Rivers has three years and $24MM left on his contract. Under Rivers’ tutelage, Tyrese Maxey has become a budding star and Embiid has delivered the two best seasons of his career, Vardon notes. The Sixers kept on winning despite the Ben Simmons drama and needed to give up two key role players as well as Simmons in order to bring in James Harden.
- Trading for Rudy Gobert and his hefty contract wouldn’t be worth the risk for the Raptors, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star opines. Gobert doesn’t present enough of an offensive threat, and his ability to switch and guard on the perimeter the way Toronto defends is also a legitimate question. His lack of positional versatility doesn’t fit the Raptors’ roster, Smith adds.
Pacific Notes: Wiseman, Lakers Draft, Brown, Kerr
Warriors center James Wiseman plans to play in the Summer League if he doesn’t suffer any more setbacks in his recovery from a right knee injury, Kerith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Wiseman was ruled out for the season in late March. “I’m never going to give up, no matter how hard it gets,” said Wiseman, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft. The big man has been doing stationary work but hasn’t returned to contact, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers are bringing in six draft prospects on Tuesday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That group will include DeVante’ Jones (Michigan), Jeriah Horne (Tulsa), Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu (UT Arlington), Jamaree Bouyea (San Francisco), Jordan Usher (Georgia Tech) and Grant Golden (Richmond).
- Kings fans will have to wait to hear from their new head coach. A press conference to introduce Mike Brown as Sacramento’s coach, which will also include GM Monte McNair, won’t occur until the Warriors are eliminated from the playoffs or win the championship, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets.
- Until then, the Kings can take comfort in Steve Kerr‘s endorsement of his associate head coach, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets. “He’s an amazing coach and an amazing friend. Sacramento made a great choice,” Kerr said. “It’s a loss for us, but this is how it’s supposed to go.” Brown filled in for Kerr in Game 4 of Golden State’s playoff series against Memphis after Kerr tested positive for COVID.
Dillon Brooks Remorseful For Foul On Payton
Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks expressed remorse for injuring Warriors guard Gary Payton II during Game 2 of their teams’ Western Conference series, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Brooks spoke publicly for the first time since he was assessed Flagrant Foul 2 for his takedown of Payton, who suffered a fractured elbow.
“I didn’t mean for to hurt somebody,” Brooks said. “If I were to take it back in that moment, I would.”
Brooks served a one-game suspension but will return to action for Game 4 on Monday. Payton is out for the remainder of the series and is expected to need at least three weeks to recover.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr and several of his players felt Brooks’ hack was a dirty play. Payton tumbled to the court after Brooks fouled him on a layup attempt. Kerr added that Brooks “broke the code” of how the game is played.
Brooks wasn’t sure how to take that.
“I don’t even know what that means,” Brooks said. “It’s the playoffs. Every bucket, every pass, every possession, every play counts.”
The Grizzlies are eager to get Brooks back, especially given Ja Morant‘s injury status.
“DB’s going to be huge for us,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We always talk about him being a tone-setter for us
Morant Out For Game 4; Kerr Enters Protocols
Ja Morant will miss Game 4 of the Grizzlies’ series against the Warriors on Monday, coach Taylor Jenkins told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk (Twitter link) and other media members during his pregame press conference.
Morant was expected to sit out. He suffered a knee injury in Game 3 and will continue receiving treatment. He’s considered day-to-day, which opens the door for a possible Game 5 return.
Morant finished Game 3 with a game-high 34 points, seven assists and three steals in 36 minutes. The Warriors’ Jordan Poole tugged on Morant’s right knee as he was swiping for the ball during the fourth quarter.
Tyus Jones will start in Morant’s place, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets.
The Warriors won’t have their head coach on the sidelines. Steve Kerr has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Associate head coach Mike Brown, who was officially named the Kings’ head coach on Monday but remains on Golden State’s bench through the playoffs, will serve as acting coach.
Kerr had been wearing a mask in recent days and his voice was hoarse during press conferences, Slater adds in another tweet.