Eastern Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Bone, Heat
The Celtics are eager to find out how good they can be at full health, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. They rarely had all of their top seven players available at the same time, yet still had fifth-best record in the league when play was halted. Rookie Grant Williams told reporters last week that the team has great chemistry. “We were having so much fun during the year,” he said. Players can’t wait to back in the gym together because of the positive vibes running through the team, Forsberg adds.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- It’s uncertain whether teams currently outside the playoff picture will be included in a potential resumption of play. However, some Knicks players have recently been told to be ready to report to training camp in early June, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that all professional sports teams are now allowed to begin training camps in the state. Since players would be returning from varying sites and presumably going into quarantine once they arrive, some of them are wondering if they should go straight to Orlando, where the games are expected to be played.
- Pistons rookie guard Jordan Bone has changed agents, Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype tweets. Bone will now be represented by Colin Bryant of Fundamental Sports Management. The Pistons acquired the rights to Bone, a second-round pick, from the Sixers in a draft night trade. He played on a two-way contract this season, appearing in 10 NBA games.
- The Heat could re-sign players like Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, Meyers Leonard and Derrick Jones Jr. this offseason and eventually turn them into trade chips, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. If Miami retains those players on contracts beyond a single season, it would cut into its cap space for the 2021 offseason. However, the Heat could use them in sign-and-trades for bigger free agents down the road, similar to what they did with Josh Richardson in the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade with Philadelphia.
George Karl Open To Coaching Again
Longtime NBA coach George Karl has a desire to coach again, Pat Graham of the Associated Press reports.
Following three bouts with cancer, the 69-year-old Karl feels healthy and energized.
“I love the game as much as I ever have,” Karl told Graham. “If the right situation came up, I might coach again.”
Karl is one of nine NBA coaches to notch 1,000 wins in his career. Karl racked up those wins with Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle, Milwaukee, Denver and Sacramento. He hasn’t coached in the league since the Kings fired him in April 2016.
Karl’s son, Coby, is the head coach of the Lakers‘ G League team, the South Bay Lakers. George Karl attended a number of his son’s games this season after recovering from his latest battle with cancer, this time melanoma of the eye.
He admits he still has concerns about a recurrence.
“Once you have cancer, you have a higher risk of getting another cancer. I know that,” he said. “But my health is probably as good as it’s been in about 15 or 20 years.”
Jazz Notes: Bogdanovic, Perrin, Booker
Bojan Bogdanovic originally injured his right wrist in a late November game, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The Jazz swingman will undergo wrist surgery on Tuesday and won’t return if the season resumes. Bogdanovic had an MRI after the original injury and tried to play through the pain but aggravated it at various times throughout the season, Jones adds.
We have more on the Jazz:
- The team won’t immediately seek a replacement for vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin, Jones reports in a separate tweet. Instead, the current staff will divide up his responsibilities. Perrin is joining the Knicks as an assistant GM after being in Utah’s front office since 2001.
- Recently retired forward Trevor Booker has become a fan favorite in Utah despite only playing two years with the Jazz, as Sarah Todd of the Deseret News details. Booker was playing in the Chinese Basketball Association but returned to the U.S. to undergo foot surgery. He decided to retire after the pandemic. When Booker announced his retirement on social media, he received an outpouring of well wishes from Jazz fans.
- Georges Niang provided details about the precautions being taken at the team’s training facility. Get the details here.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Cook, Warriors, Clippers
The Kings will place more than one third of their full-time workers on four-month furloughs beginning June 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports. The employees were informed in an email from President of Business Operations John Rinehart. The furloughs will impact approximately 100 workers but the front office, health and performance, and scouting/analytics staffs will not be affected.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers guard Quinn Cook detailed all the precautions being taken at the team’s practice facility after it was reopened. In an Instagram post relayed by The Los Angeles Times’ Tania Ganguli, Cook said even his shoes were not exempt. “We had to leave whatever we wore, whatever shoes and flip-flops we wore, we had to leave them outside,” he said. “We had to wash our hands as soon as we walk in the door. Once we get inside, all of our stuff is kind of right there on the court.” Cook and Devontae Cacok were the only two players to use the facility on Saturday, according to Ganguli. Veterans Jared Dudley and Danny Green were planning to use the facility on Monday.
- Guards Derrick Rose, Tomas Satoransky and Reggie Bullock are among the guards the Warriors could target with their $17MM trade exception, Grant Liffmann of NBC Sports Bay Area opines. The Warriors obtained the large exception in the Andre Iguodala trade with Memphis last summer.
- The Clippers’ workout plan during the stoppage of play should have them well-prepared whenever practices and games resume, as Jovan Buha of The Athletic details. The Clippers held weekly group workouts over Zoom as well as chats with famous athletes, along with creating personalized home workout rooms for each player. The organization ordered equipment to ensure each player could work out from home via video calls with individualized player-coaches and strength trainers.
And-Ones: Campazzo, Holland, Doyle, Combine
Argentinian guard Facundo Campazzo could explore NBA options this year, according to former NBA and EuroLeague player Andres Nocioni (hat tip to Sportando’s Dario Skerletic). Though the point guard is under contract with Real Madrid until 2024, Nocioni believes it could be time for the 29-year-old Campazzo to play in the U.S.
“I think that Real Madrid will have to listen to offers from NBA teams this summer … He is not going to push it, but circumstances are going to make him consider the possibility,” Nocioni said.
Campazzo was averaging 9.9 PPG, 7.1 APG and 1.4 SPG before play was suspended.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA player John Holland has re-signed with Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel’s Basketball Premier League, according to Sportando’s Alessandro Maggi. Holland, who averaged 13 PPG this season, played 24 games for the Cavaliers during the 2018/19 season.
- Milton Doyle has agreed to a deal with Hapoel Eilat for the resumption of the Israeli Winner League season, according to Sportando’s Nicola Lupo. Doyle played 10 games with the Nets on a two-way deal during the 2017/18 season. The 26-year-old guard played for the G League’s Windy City Bulls this season.
- The NBA is moving forward with plans for the postponed draft combine, Tim Bontemps of ESPN reports. The league has circulated a memo, asking teams to vote for up to 70 players to invite to the combine. Numerous executives believe a virtual combine – where coaches, scouts and executives would watch players work out from afar – would be the most likely way the event could be held this year, Bontemps adds.
Pacific Notes: Hield, Wiggins, Harrell, Vassell
The Kings will likely give Buddy Hield the opportunity to bounce back next season rather than explore trades, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Hield’s four-year, $106MM extension kicks in next season and even though he lost his starting job this season, his shooting ability is not easily replaced. Sacramento has invested heavily in Hield’s development, though economic issues created by the pandemic could change the team’s approach.
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- The Warriors didn’t acquire Andrew Wiggins from the Timberwolves with the intention of flipping him for another star player, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. While they will aggressively pursue trades for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal and other All-Stars, they anticipate Wiggins being their starting small forward next season, Slater adds.
- The Clippers would be better off trying to re-sign Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson rather than giving big money to unrestricted free agent Montrezl Harrell, Jovan Buha of The Athletic opines. Harrell’s role won’t expand in the future the way the current roster is constructed. The lack of other two-way wings in the 2020 free agent class makes Morris more valuable, while Jackson could get more playing time in Los Angeles going forward after an impressive stretch before the stoppage of play.
- Wing Devin Vassell of Florida State would be an ideal building block for the Kings as a late lottery selection, Richard Ivanowski of the Sacramento Bee argues. Vassell is the best team defender in the draft class, an above-average perimeter shooter and has a high motor, Ivanowski adds. Vassell is currently ranked No. 16 overall by ESPN.
Players Leaning On Silver’s Judgment For Potential Restart
The trust between NBA players and Adam Silver has made him the driving force behind the possible resumption of this season and sorting out all pandemic-related issues, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN details.
Unlike the often contentious relationship between MLB players and baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, the spirit of cooperation in the NBA has put Silver in a position of reshaping the NBA during the pandemic. That’s why most players are willing to finish the season and owners are sold on testing while remaining cautious on bringing back fans, despite the financial implications.
The league is examining ways to have fans in arenas at 15% to 20% capacity, Wojnarowski continues. Most teams are studying how to get fans into premium seating arrangements and safely distance them when fans are officially allowed to return on a limited basis.
The large revenue issues have not been lost on players, thanks to their willingness to accept Silver’s blunt assessment of the current situation. The star players are on committees engaging with the league office and even thanked Silver for getting on a conference call with them last week, Wojnarowski adds. That’s a big reason why the players didn’t balk at having 25% of their paychecks withheld, beginning on Friday.
Western Notes: Stevens, Pelicans, Nuggets, Oubre
Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens will return to active status as a team stakeholder and also rejoin the team’s executive board once this season officially ends, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic reports. Stevens received a one-year suspension and was fined $500K after he shoved and yelled at the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of last season’s Finals.
Despite reports to the contrary, Stevens was never bought out, nor was he in danger of being kicked out of the ownership group, Kawakami continues. Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob believes Stevens had a momentary lapse in judgment and has served the suspension without complaint, Kawakami adds.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Pelicans plan to reopen their practice facility in Metairie, La. next Monday, March 18, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune reports. Louisiana’s stay-at-home order prohibits the team from using the facility through Friday, when that order is set to expire. At least five teams are known to have reopened their facilities since the NBA gave the go-ahead to conduct individual workouts under supervision and safeguards.
- The Nuggets have created virtual locker rooms to stay in touch and engaged, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Rather than staying connected via e-mails and text messages, the Nuggets have conducted a handful of team Zoom calls.
- Suns wing Kelly Oubre Jr., who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in early March, showed explosiveness in an Instagram post, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Oubre, who wasn’t wearing a knee brace in the video, could return to action this season if it resumes, Rankin adds. Oubre will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020/21 season.
Jazz Work Out At Practice Facility
A handful of Jazz players participated in voluntary, individual workouts on Monday at their practice facility, the Zions Bank Basketball Campus, Aaron Falk of the team’s website reports.
The Jazz entered their team’s practice facility for the first time since the NBA suspended play after March 11. Utah’s game at Oklahoma City was postponed prior to the opening tip that night after game officials were informed Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Hawks also reopened their facility on Monday after the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers reopened on Friday, the first day the NBA allowed teams to return to their practice gyms for controlled workouts.
The workouts were done in accordance with Utah Department of Health and NBA regulations, including the prohibition of more than four players inside the facility at any one time. Practices and scrimmages are also barred.
The Jazz strength staff has conducted individual and video workouts over the past two months but many of their players do not have home gyms or access to basketball courts, Falk adds.
And-Ones: FIBA, Turkey, Coach K, NBA Transactions
FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will be held that summer from August 25 to September 10, according to a FIBA press release. The group phase of World Cup 2023 will be played in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, with the final phase taking place in the Philippine capital city of Manila. It will be the first time the competition has been staged in more than one country. Spain defeated Argentina in the finals of last year’s Cup, which was held in China.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Turkey became the latest country to cancel the remainder of its basketball season. Former NBA player Hedo Turkoglu, the basketball federation’s president, officially announced the cancellation of BSL and TBL seasons, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
- Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski turned down numerous offers over the years to become an NBA coach, Sportando’s Nicola Lupo relays. In an interview on WIP radio, the Duke coach said he turned down the Sixers job in 2003, the Celtics in 1990 and the Lakers in 2005.
- The Warriors’ signing of Kevin Durant, the Spurs’ draft-night acquisition on Kawhi Leonard and the Rockets’ trade for James Harden rank as the biggest and best transactions over the past decade, according to ESPN Insiders. A list of 74 major moves was compiled by ESPN’s NBA experts.