Jazz Notes: Snyder, Ainge, Fizdale, Bryant, Cockburn, Barcello
The Jazz could block Quin Snyder from coaching next season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Snyder, who resigned on Sunday, has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract, which gives Utah leverage if Snyder seeks another coaching job before the 2023/24 season.
Snyder apparently isn’t in any hurry to patrol the sidelines again. He’s looking forward to spending time with his family, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do next year, as far as coaching,” Snyder said. “I know I’m going to be at Halloween with my daughter. That’s the silver lining of me stepping down now.”
Jazz executive Danny Ainge expects Snyder to return to coaching “very soon, probably next year,” Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets, though it’s unclear if, by “next year,” Ainge meant next season or 2023.
We have more from the Jazz:
- Despite meeting the media on Monday, Snyder’s motivation for leaving his post remain vague, Walden writes. However, it is clear he – not the team – made the decision and agonized over it for several weeks.
- Minority owner Dwyane Wade might push the front office to strongly consider Lakers assistant and former Knicks head coach David Fizdale as Snyder’s replacement, Marc Stein writes in a Substack post. Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant is a favorite of Donovan Mitchell, but Ainge may be hesitant to cater too much to his star shooting guard.
- On the draft front, the Jazz are bringing in Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn and BYU’s Alex Barcello for workouts this week, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.
Kokoskov Expected To Join Nash’s Staff With Nets
Former NBA head coach Igor Kokoskov is apparently on the move again.
The Nets are expected to hire Kokoskov as one of Steve Nash’s top assistants, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link). Kokoskov was on Jason Kidd‘s staff with the Mavericks this season.
Brooklyn is looking to change things up after its first-round flameout.
Kokoskov was hired in September to join Kidd in Dallas. He was coming off a stint as the head coach of EuroLeague team Fenerbahçe. Kokoskov has served as an assistant for eight different NBA teams over the last two decades and was the Suns’ head coach for the 2018/19 season.
Southwest Notes: Wood, Rockets Workouts, Daniels, Pelicans Lottery Pick
Christian Wood is entering the final year of his contract and the Rockets need to get some value for him or extend him at a reasonable price, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who believes it would be prudent to move him if the Rockets can get a decent first-rounder for him, given that they can get a starter-level big man with their lottery pick. If they don’t extend Wood or get a strong trade offer this summer, they can still deal him at the trade deadline, Hollinger adds. Hollinger and Kelly Iko of The Athletic discuss how the Rockets’ offseason might play out.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The Rockets brought in several draft prospects this week, Iko tweets. That group includes MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee), Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite), Nikola Jovic (Mega) and Kendall Brown (Baylor).
- Dyson Daniels is visiting the Pelicans this weekend, Jake Madison of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Daniels is currently ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s Best Available list and New Orleans holds the No. 8 pick.
- Speaking of that pick, if the Pelicans decide to move it for a quality veteran, who would such a trade entail? William Guillory of The Athletic breaks down scenarios in which they acquire Deandre Ayton, Joe Harris and Myles Turner in hypothetical deals involving the lottery pick.
And-Ones: Hernangomez, Brazdeikis, Take Fouls, Mitrou-Long
Juancho Hernangomez told Daniel Arribas of El Pais (hat tip to HoopsHype) that he “can’t picture himself” returning to Europe next season, despite speculation about that possibility. “I have spoken to nobody or signed any offer,” he said.
While the Celtics are three wins away from the championship, Hernangomez said his 18-game stint with Boston wasn’t a pleasant experience. “I wasn’t happy there, it was very hard. There was no communication,” he said. “I didn’t know what was expected of me. There were many super selfish players, no team building. I lost my love for basketball a bit.”
Hernangomez finished the season with the Jazz and is technically under contract through 2022/23, but his $7.42MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed. Utah is expected to make him a free agent before the guarantee deadline at the end of the month.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Magic forward Ignas Brazdeikis will play for Lithuania in FIBA World Cup qualifiers this summer, according to BasketNews.com. “I want to play, and I will play for Lithuania,” Brazdeikis said. Brazdeikis was born in Lithuania but grew up in Canada, and has a Canadian passport. It took nearly two years for the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) to complete all the paperwork required to receive official FIBA confirmation he could play for their national team.
- NBA coaches and players frustrated by transition take fouls will see a rules change next season, according to commissioner Adam Silver, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. The fouls, committed to prevent fast-break baskets, will include stiffer penalties next season. The G League rule awards teams one free throw and possession, while international rules have a penalty of two free throws plus possession.
- Fenerbahce is currently leading the race for former NBA guard Naz Mitrou-Long, according to Italian newspaper La Prealpina (hat tip to Sportando). Mitrou-Long is also being pursued by Olimpia Milano after a strong season with Germani Brescia. He appeared in 20 NBA games, most recently with Indiana in 2019/20.
Central Notes: LaVine, Pacers, Pistons Lottery Pick, Bucks Offseason
What would it take for teams without cap room to ink Zach LaVine and engineer a sign-and-trade? Evan Sidery of Basketball News takes a look at several potential trades in which LaVine winds up with the Heat, Hawks or Mavericks. In the Hawks’ case, Sidery speculates that a three-way deal in which the Bulls receive Kevin Huerter and Onyeka Okongwu and the Pacers get Danilo Gallinari and a 2023 first-round pick from the Hawks might work.
We have more on the Central Division:
- The Pacers will work out six draft prospects on Monday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. That group includes Teddy Allen (New Mexico State), Terrell Brown Jr. (Washington), Max Christie (Michigan State), Ryan Rollins (Toledo), Peyton Watson (UCLA) and Kok Yat (Overtime Elite).
- Would the Pistons move off the No. 5 spot in the lottery for three first-round selections? Keith Langlois of Pistons.com believes if the Spurs offered the No. 9, 20 and 25 picks, Detroit might go along with it. The draft is deep enough that adding three first-rounders would bring more value that the No. 5 pick alone, in Langlois’ assessment.
- The Bucks may have as many as five roster holes to fill and The Athletic’s Eric Nehm takes a comprehensive look at how they’ll approach the offseason and what kinds of free agents they might target.
Central Notes: Sharpe, Christie, Cockburn, Plummer, Kiss
Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey, Bennedict Mathurin and Shaedon Sharpe are the potential candidates to be chosen by the Pistons with their lottery pick, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes. One of those names, most likely Ivey, will be off the board by the time the Pistons are on the clock.
Sharpe is a mystery candidate since he didn’t play college ball despite attending Kentucky last season. The Pistons could get a better read on him soon. Sharpe will be working out in Detroit within the next 10 days, Edwards reports via his sources.
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons not only have the No. 5 pick, they hold the No. 46 overall selection in the second round, thanks to a trade with the Nets last year. Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press looks at potential targets with that pick, including Michigan State’s Max Christie and Colorado State’s David Roddy.
- Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn, considered a second-round prospect, has been busy working out for a variety of teams this week. He’ll visit the Bucks in the near future, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.
- Another Illinois player, wing Alfonso Plummer, visited the Cavaliers on Thursday, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Bryant College guard Peter Kiss, who led Division I in scoring last season, visited the Cavaliers on Tuesday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets.
Silver Addresses Expansion, Blazers, All-NBA Teams, In-Season Tournament
The NBA isn’t planning to expand in the near future, according to commissioner Adam Silver. During his annual press conference prior to Game 1 of the Finals, he shot down a report that the league is targeting Seattle and Las Vegas for expansion in 2024, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports.
“We are not discussing that at this time,” Silver said.
Silver said the league will inevitably expand and called Seattle and Las Vegas “wonderful markets.” However, he cited a lack of top-tier talent as a reason for pumping the brakes on expanding in the next couple of seasons.
“There still are only so many of the truly top-tier super talents to go around,” he said. “That is something on the mind of the other teams as we think about expansion.”
Here are some of the other highlights from Silver’s press conference:
- With many teams moving toward position-less lineups, All-NBA teams may be determined differently in future seasons. “We’re going to discuss that with the players and sit down once again and see if there’s a better way to do it,” Silver said.
- Amid reports that Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky made an offer to buy the Trail Blazers for more than $2 billion, Silver stated the Blazers will eventually be sold and he hopes they’ll remain in Portland. The Blazers released a statement on Thursday saying the team is not for sale. “At some point, the team will be sold,” Silver said. “I don’t have any sense of the precise timing. … This is a hugely a complex estate, and although it’s been several years, these things take time.”
- An in-season tournament is still a possibility but “we’re not there yet,” Silver said. With so many teams giving key players nights off during various points of the season, Silver wants to ensure the tournament is competitive. “We want to make sure we have a system where our best players are incentivized to be on the floor,” Silver said.
NBA Announces 112 Withdrawals From Early Entrant List
According to the NBA, 112 players have notified the league that they wish to be removed from the list of early entrants eligible for this month’s draft, according to a press release.
The NCAA’s early entry withdrawal deadline passed this Wednesday (June 1) at 11:59 p.m. ET, so players wishing to retain their college eligibility had to remove their names from the draft pool by that point.
The league’s own withdrawal deadline is 5 p.m. ET on June 13, so more names will be added to the withdrawal list in the coming days.
You can check out our updated list of all early entrants who have withdrawn, as well as those who plan to remain in the draft, right here.
Among the players not previously reported as having withdrawn but were included in the NBA’s list include:
- Tez Allen, G, (Southern Oregon), Senior
- Henry Blair Jr., G, (Bob Jones (SC)), Junior
- BJ Fitzgerald, F, Virginia State, Junior
- Joirdon Karl Nicholas, F, Texas Southern, Senior
- Shareef O’Neal, F/C, LSU, Junior
Southeast Draft Notes: Murray, Hawks, Wizards, Hornets
The Magic hold the No. 1 pick and Iowa’s Keegan Murray isn’t expected to go higher than No. 4 in the lottery. That didn’t prevent Orlando from doing its due diligence on the high-scoring wing. Murray came in for a pre-draft workout on Thursday, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. The two sides also had a discussion during the draft combine in Chicago, Price adds.
We have more developments from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks have been busy looking at prospects. They brought in Teddy Allen (New Mexico St), JD Davison (Alabama), Henri Drell (Windy City Bulls), Malik Osborne (Florida St.), Matteo Spagnolo (Vanoli Cremona, Italy) and Davion Warren (Texas Tech) on Thursday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. The parade of draft prospects will continue on Friday, as they’ll look at Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse), Christian Braun (Kansas), Eli Brooks (Michigan), R.J. Cole (UConn), Lester Quinones (Memphis) and Kai Sotto (Adelaide, Australia) on Friday, Kirschner adds in another tweet.
- The Wizards will also be evaluating six prospects on Friday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. That group includes Alex Barcello (BYU), Josh Carlton (Houston), Makur Maker (Howard), Jean Montero (Overtime Elite), Charlie Moore (Miami, Fla.) and JD Notae (Arkansas).
- The Hornets hosted six prospects on Wednesday — Ochai Agbaji (Kansas), James Akinjo (Baylor), Luka Brajkovic (Davidson), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Trevor Keels (Duke) and Montero – the team’s PR department tweets. They brought in a handful of players on Thursday — Dhieu Deing (UTSA), Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Florida), Both Gach (Utah), Jalen Johnson (Mercer) and Tommy Kuhse (Saint Mary’s), the team tweets. Villanova guard Collin Gillespie will be coming in soon, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.
Porter, Iguodala, Payton, Williams Will Suit Up For Game 1
Otto Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala and Gary Payton II will all suit up for Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link) and other media members.
Reports had indicated that Payton was on track to return for the Finals but that statuses of Porter and Iguodala were more uncertain.
Payton has been sidelined since May 3 after suffering a fractured left elbow in Game 2 of the Warriors’ second-round series against Memphis.
Iguodala hasn’t played since Game 4 of Golden State’s first-round matchup with Denver on April 24 due to a left cervical disc injury in his neck. Porter has been nursing a sore left foot since Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. All three players were listed as questionable after going through contact at practice on Wednesday.
The Celtics will have starting center Robert Williams in the lineup, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets. Also listed as questionable, Williams played only 15 minutes in Boston’s Game 7 win over Miami. He missed Game 3 of the series due to soreness in his surgically-repaired knee.