Atlantic Notes: Miller, Prokhorov, Celtics, Scott
The Knicks have hired Mike Miller as an assistant on David Fizdale’s staff after he served as their G League coach since the 2015/16 season, according to a team press release. Miller, not to be confused with the longtime NBA player, compiled a 108-92 record with the Westchester Knicks. Derrick Alston, who served as an assistant to Miller, has been promoted to head coach of the G league team, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Mikhail Prokhorov, who recently sold his interest in the Nets, inquired about other NBA franchises — including the Knicks — before he was approved as the majority owner of the Brooklyn franchise. His top basketball adviser, Sergei Kushchenko, revealed that to TASS in a story relayed by NetsDaily.com. ”We were looking over various options at that time,” Kushchenko said. “Among them were the New York Knicks, who asked for a bizarre sum, the Phoenix Suns and the New Jersey Nets. We decided to focus on the New Jersey Nets since it was a completely different market then in addition to the prospect of the new arena’s construction along with a full-fledged business framework.” Prokhorov was also scared away by the Knicks’ debt load, according to NetsDaily.
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens will have a dilemma if he wants to get all of his best players on the court during crunch time, Matt John of Basketball Insiders notes. The team’s top five include Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, which would leave them without a true power forward or center in those situations.
- Sixers forward Mike Scott said some advice from Clippers coach Doc Rivers helped him after he was dealt to Philadelphia last season, Kevin Murphy of The Athletic writes. Scott emerged as a key reserve after he was included in the Tobias Harris blockbuster and earned a two-year, $9.8MM contract in free agency. “I feel I didn’t play well in L.A., and I think for the most part it was on me,” Scott said. “I was still trying to figure it out. When I got here, I said, ‘[The heck with it], I am going to ball-out and try to do what Doc says.’ Do the little things and see what happens.”
World Cup Notes: Joseph, Spain, Teodosic, Rankings
Is guard Cory Joseph in or out of the FIBA World Cup for Team Canada? Joseph, the most prominent NBA member remaining on the depleted Team Canada roster, was withdrawing from the competition, according to a tweet from Toronto Star reporter Doug Smith. However, Team Canada coach Nick Nurse said that report was incorrect and that Joseph would indeed join the team in China, John Casey of 7Olympics tweets.
Joseph is not currently with the team during exhibition games in Australia and Sportsnet Canada’s Michael Grange notes that Joseph would have to leave for China soon, given that the tournament begins in 10 days and he needs to adjust to the 12-hour time difference (Twitter link).
We have more World Cup news:
- Spain will be a tough out in the World Cup. The final roster includes several NBA players, according to a Sportando tweet. Ricky Rubio and Marc Gasol lead the 12-man squad, which also includes Willy Hernangomez,and Rudy Fernandez.
- Former Clippers guard Milos Teodosic didn’t make the final Serbian roster, according to a Sportando post. Teodosic has returned to his Italian team, Virtus Bologna, to rehab a foot injury.
- The Serbian team tops the latest FIBA rankings, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Team USA is No. 2, followed by Spain, France and Greece. The Serbian team includes Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica.
Southeast Notes: Winslow, Chalmers, Isaac, Wall
The Heat will need to use Justise Winslow at either point guard or power forward to optimize their other main wing options, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines in his latest mailbag. Putting Winslow at the ‘one’ or ‘four’ would allow coach Erik Spoelstra to play rookie Tyler Herro and Dion Waiters more often with the team’s top player, Jimmy Butler. If Winslow ends up playing regularly at small forward, Spoelstra would have to choose between Herro and Waiters as a mainstay in the rotation, Winderman adds.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- A reunion between the Heat and point guard Mario Chalmers is unlikely at this point, Winderman writes in another mailbag post. Chalmers, 33, is aiming for an NBA comeback after playing in Italy last season. However, even if the Heat are interested, they’d have to release Kendrick Nunn in order to create a roster spot for Chalmers since the team is hard-capped, Winderman notes.
- Entering his third season, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is brimming with optimism over his team’s future after it reached the playoffs last season. Isaac likes the team’s continuity after it re-signed key free agents Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross, as he told John Denton of the team’s website. “We’re all hyped up for the season,’” he said. “And I’m sure as guys get together and start playing again, we’ll have more of those talks about, ‘Hey, we can go even farther than we did last (season).'”
- The Wizards are closely monitoring John Wall‘s rehab process as he works his way back from a ruptured Achilles, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reports. They are even providing owner Ted Leonsis with daily progress reports. “I used to start my day reading the Washington Post. Now I start my day reading [and watching] my daily John Wall exercise video,” Leonsis told Hughes.
Bucks Sign Guard Rayjon Tucker
August 20: The signing is official, according to the team’s website.
August 16: Guard Rayjon Tucker will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bucks, Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.
Right after the draft, a report surfaced that claimed Tucker would sign a partially guaranteed deal with Milwaukee.
However, nearly two months went by without a contract being inked. Last week, the Heat hosted Tucker for a three-day audition but no agreement was reached because Tucker was looking for a two-way deal and Miami wasn’t willing to offer more than an Exhibit 10 contract. The Bucks have already filled their two-way slots but Tucker has decided to join them after all.
The Bucks are also signing Jaylen Adams to a camp deal.
Tucker played for the Bucks‘ squad in the Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 10.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 19.8 MPG over five appearances.
The Arkansas-Little Rock product had announced prior to the draft that he would transfer to the University of Memphis, but later decided to keep his name in the draft. The 6’5″ guard averaged 20.3 points per game last season and shot 41.1% from 3-point range. He was a second-team selection on the All-Sun Belt team.
Bucks Sign Jaylen Adams To Camp Deal
August 20: The signing is official, according to the team’s website.
August 16: The Bucks are signing guard Jaylen Adams to a training camp deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Adams became a free agent in mid-July after the Hawks waived him before his $1,416,852 salary became guaranteed. Milwaukee’s contract offer is apparently an Exhibit 10 deal. The Bucks targeted Adams for an affiliate contract spot with their G League team, the Wisconsin Herd, Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.
Adams signed a two-way deal with Atlanta last summer, then had it converted to a standard contract in February. He went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure.
The 23-year-old Adams appeared in 34 NBA games last season, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.9 APG in 12.6 MPG.
Milwaukee had 16 players under contract (14 with fully guaranteed deals), along with a pair of two-way players.
The 6’2” Adams faces an uphill battle to gain a roster spot. The Bucks already have Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, Donte DiVincenzo and two-way player Frank Mason at the point.
Kings Sign Center Eric Mika
The Kings have signed center Eric Mika, according to a team press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
Sacramento had two openings available on its training camp roster. Mika faces long odds in terms of making the opening-night roster. The Kings already have three centers — Dewayne Dedmon, Richaun Holmes and Harry Giles — along with power forwards Marvin Bagley III, Nemanja Bjelica, Caleb Swanigan, Tyler Lydon and two-way player Wenyen Gabriel.
The 6’10” Mika, 24, was a member of Sacramento’s California Classic summer league squad last month. He played three games and averaged 8.3 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 19.3 MPG. He also appeared in five Las Vegas summer league games for the franchise and averaged 9.2 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 17.0 MPG.
Mika went undrafted out of BYU in 2017. He played overseas with Germani Basket Brescia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A and Medi Bayreuth of Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga last season, posting averages of 8.2 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 15.9 MPG in 41 games.
Community Shootaround: Warriors’ Outlook
Stephen Curry has been saying all the right things this summer.
Curry remains upbeat about the Warriors’ prospects for the upcoming season despite Kevin Durant‘s departure to the Nets, Klay Thompson‘s knee injury and the loss of numerous other rotation players, including Andre Iguodala (trade) and Shaun Livingston (waived).
“It’s just a change in dynamic all the way around,” Curry said this month. “We’re excited about the opportunities, the challenges for the whole roster, because we’ve got a lot of guys that have the opportunity to really prove themselves and make a difference in our team. Obviously our core, ’til Klay gets back, we know how to win and we know how to play. We’re just going to do it a little differently.”
It’s uncertain if and when Thompson will return from his ACL injury. Most likely it will be after the All-Star break and the Warriors will certainly take a cautious approach with an All-Star who just signed a $190MM contract.
D’Angelo Russell was the team’s big offseason acquisition and it remains to be seen how he’ll mesh with Curry while playing off the ball. What they’ll do with Russell once Thompson is healthy enough to play is another major question mark.
The Warriors should have a decent one-two punch defensively at center with Kevon Looney and another off-season addition, Willie Cauley-Stein.
The remainder of the roster is dotted with young, unproven players and a couple of others trying to revive their careers. Their backup shooting guard options include Alec Burks, Jacob Evans and Jordan Poole. Alfonzo McKinnie, Glenn Robinson III, and two-way player Damion Lee are the main contenders at small forward while Omari Spellman, Alen Smailagic and Eric Paschall are the other big man reserves.
Hardly an imposing lot. The good news is that the trio of Curry, Russell and Draymond Green — provided he’s motivated and stays in top shape — are better than the top three players on most other rosters. Additionally, Steve Kerr is one of the top coaches in the league and will be out to prove he can maximize the talent he has on the roster.
That brings us to our question of the day: Will the Warriors make the playoffs during the upcoming season? If so, what is their postseason ceiling?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Nuggets Notes: Harris, Bol, Cook
Gary Harris is primed for a bounce-back season with the Nuggets after injuries marred his 2018/19 campaign, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic writes. Harris was only able to play in 57 regular-season games last season. Harris shot 40.2% from long range in the last 21 games of the regular season and averaged 14.2 PPG in the postseason, Kosmider notes.
Coach Michael Malone has praised Harris for his consistency and the shooting guard has a capable backup in Malik Beasley, which gives Malone the luxury of resting Harris more often prior to the playoffs, Kosmider adds.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- They would prefer to have second-round pick Bol Bol sign a two-way contract in order to stay below the luxury tax line, as Albert Nahmad details. A two-way deal instead of a $898K minimum-salary contract with Bol would give them a little more elbow room as opposed to being less than $100K under the line. If Bol doesn’t want a two-way, the team would have to issue him that minimum deal by September 5 to make him a restricted free agent. Bol would have until October 15 to accept the offer. The team is currently $979K below the tax line, though that figures excludes some unlikely bonuses for Harris and Paul Millsap, Nahmad adds (Twitter links here).
- Undrafted forward Tyler Cook currently holds the other two-way spot and he has no illusions about making an impact in his rookie year, according to Kendra Andrews of The Athletic. Like most two-way players, Cook will try to hone his skills in the G League for a majority of the season. “I’m a rookie and I understand that,” Cook said. “I’m coming into an established group and so I want to be able to do whatever I can do, whatever they ask me to do to help them win.”
- According to a rookie survey, Bol was a steal in this year’s draft. Get more details here.
Lakers To Work Out Noah, Speights, Howard
The Lakers plan to work out free agent centers Joakim Noah and Marreese Speights as well as the Grizzlies’ Dwight Howard this week in Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Another NBA free agent, Marcin Gortat, could also come in for a look, Wojnarowski adds. The Lakers want to evaluate the physical condition and mindset of each player as they seek to replace DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins suffered a torn ACL this month after he signed a one-year contract with the Lakers. Cousins could miss the entire season.
The Grizzlies had already granted the Lakers permission to meet with Howard. Memphis acquired him from the Wizards this offseason but he’s not part of their plans. The Grizzlies could make a trade or reach a buyout on his $5.6MM contract if the Lakers want him.
Noah averaged 7.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 41 games for Memphis last season after his woeful stint with the Knicks. He hasn’t drawn much attention on the free agent market, though he reportedly was being very selective about his next NBA destination.
Speights, who played in China last season, worked out in front of numerous NBA executives last month in Las Vegas.
Gortat was waived by the Clippers at the trade deadline last season and didn’t get picked up.
The Lakers currently have 14 players with guaranteed deals.
International Notes: Stokes, Morris, Mourning, Senegal
Power forward Jarnell Stokes has decided to remain in China for a third consecutive season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Stokes will sign a $1.9MM contract with Xinjiang. Stokes has appeared in 28 NBA games for the Grizzlies, Heat, and Nuggets. He played five games with the Trail Blazers in the Las Vegas Summer League last month and averaged 10.6 PPG and 6.4 RPG.
We have more news from around the basketball globe:
- Guard Darius Morris has officially signed with Russia’s Enisey Krasnoyarsk, Carchia reports. Morris played in the G League last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 15.2 PPG and 6.1 APG. The former Lakers and Nets guard has appeared in 132 total NBA games after being selected in the second round of the 2011 draft but the 2014/15 season was his last in the league.
- Trey Mourning, son of former NBA star Alonzo Mourning, will play for Russia’s Runa Basket, Carchia adds in another post. The former Georgetown forward, who went undrafted this June, averaged 9.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in four games for the Heat in summer league action last month.
- Former NBA players Hamady Ndiaye and Maurice Ndour are among the players on Senegal’s World Cup roster, according to a FIBA press release. Ndiaye, a center, was a Timberwolves’ 2010 second-round pick and appeared in 33 NBA games. Ndour, a small forward, played 32 games for the Knicks during the 2016/17 season.