Clippers To Continue To Build Around Leonard, Harden
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says that retaining James Harden is the front office’s “first priority” this offseason, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Harden has a $36.3MM option on his contract for next season. He must decide whether to pick it up before the free agent period begins. If he doesn’t, Frank will look to re-sign Harden to a multiyear deal.
“Because James has a player option, it would be irresponsible for me not to have contingency plans with it,” Frank said. “But I’m going in with the intent that if he doesn’t pick up his option, that we’re going to be able to reach an agreement that works well for James and works well for the Clippers.”
Frank lavished praise on Harden despite the veteran guard’s underwhelming playoff performances against Denver. Frank noted that Harden appeared in 79 regular season games, played the fifth-most total minutes in the NBA (2,789), was fifth in the league in assists per game (8.7), while also averaging 22.8 points per game.
“We really asked James to do a lot,” Frank said via Zoom. “And at his age to deliver what he did…[He played in] 79 games, and he does that time and time and time again. We have a deep appreciation for that sort of availability and to be able to deliver and do what he did…We have a great level of appreciation for what James did this year.”
Frank plans to continue to build the team around Kawhi Leonard and Harden. Leonard appeared in 37 regular season games this season after returning from a knee ailment that delayed his season debut until Jan. 4.
“There’s another level for him out there that he’s going to get to next year,” Frank said, per Beth Harris of The Associated Press. “I think looking at next year that we can be better with more games from Kawhi.”
Here’s more from Frank’s press conference:
- Despite the Game 7 meltdown against the Nuggets, Frank is optimistic the core of the roster can produce better results in the postseason. “It was great that we were healthy for the first time in a long time, but that doesn’t mean you only get one shot at it,” he said. “We’ll keep on taking cracks at it, and at the same time we’ve always been open-minded and learning the errors of our way and finding areas where we can correct and get better.”
- Nicolas Batum has a $4.9MM option on his contract and Frank hopes the veteran forward picks it up. “Yes, 1,000 percent, we hope that Nico comes back,” he said.
- He admits the team needs some younger bodies. “We’re the oldest team in the league,” he said, per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “Always the quandary that we’ve had is you that can have youth, but if the deck is stacked … if you have a bunch of veterans ahead of ’em, when does the youth really ever get in the game?”
- While the Clippers generally lack financial flexibility, Frank feels he can round out the roster with some lower-cost options. “We have the non-taxpayer mid-level, which is the same tool that was used to sign Derrick Jones Jr. last summer,” he said. “We also have some trade exceptions and we’ll always be an attractive place at the minimum market based on our history of not just how the guys making the minimum have played, but how we’ve taken care of ’em and rewarded ’em.”
Spurs Notes: Popovich, Johnson, Offseason Outlook, Fox, Paul
A few days after the Spurs announced Gregg Popovich would permanently vacate the head coaching job and move to the front office, he made a surprise appearance at a press conference for his replacement, Mitch Johnson, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Popovich, who suffered a stroke in November, explained why the move was necessary.
“Things are getting better by the day but it’s not good enough for what we plan ahead, and so it’s time to make this change,” he said.
The press conference at the practice facility was his first public appearance since the health crisis. Popovich, who retains his title of president of basketball operations, was pleased to be able to remove Johnson’s interim tag.
“We saw him in action and he was brilliant. … I couldn’t be more thrilled for him,” he said.
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Johnson said the franchise has brighter days ahead. Spurs first-rounders Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle have won the last two Rookie of the Year awards. “We have a hold on the direction and want to build upon something,” Johnson said, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “This is not a reboot or restart. It’s a new chapter because it looks different, but the theme of the book isn’t changing.”
- Johnson credited Popovich for teaching him the coaching ropes, including attention to detail, competitiveness and player development. “You understand the moment and how important every single moment is. And no moment is like any other,” Johnson said. “The discipline you have to be grounded and present, giving yourself to every moment is what I will never forget. And at this moment, I would like to say thank you.”
- The Spurs possess two first-rounders in this year’s draft with a chance to move up with both picks in the lottery, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes. San Antonio has 10 players under contract for next season and even though it pulled off the De’Aaron Fox blockbuster during the season, it is well-positioned to make another big move this summer. Fox is eligible for a four-year, $229MM max extension this summer.
- The Spurs could be in the market for a free agent shooter and need to sort out their point guard situation, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith notes in his offseason preview. Chris Paul is headed back to free agency and his future with the franchise is uncertain, Smith writes, identifying Sandro Mamukelashvili as the most likely to return among the team’s free agents.
Northwest Notes: Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Gobert, Bradds
The Nuggets–Thunder second-round series features a clash between the top two contenders for the Most Valuable Player award, Denver big man Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it would be a stretch to call it a showdown, according to Jokic, since they play different positions.
“He’s a very different player,” Jokic said, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed, as a scorer. Everything looks so easy for him. Even when you are like, ‘Oh, that’s a good defense.’ It feels so easy for him and he’s amazing with a change of speed, change of rhythm, ball-handling. He can post up guys, he can go by guys, his shooting at the mid-range is unguardable basically. He’s a very special player.”
OKC coach Mark Daigneault feels neither player will care to make an individual point in the series.
“I know Shai a lot better than I know Jokic,” Daigneault said. “But I think I know enough to know that neither one of them are going to get distracted by that. Both of them are going to be fully invested in the series. It’s a supplement to the series. But it’s really, it’s not part of the series at all.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- It’s important for SGA to be well-liked by his teammates and peers beyond just being a superstar player, Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman writes. “He wants to be one of the greats,” Daigneault said. “He also wants to be one of the guys.”
- Minnesota center Rudy Gobert posted 27 points and 24 rebounds against the Lakers in the deciding Game 5 of the series. The Timberwolves big man became the first player with at least 25 points and 20 boards in a series-clinching win on the road since Shaquille O’Neal achieved that for the Heat against the Bulls in 2006, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic relays. “That’s the Rudy that can win you championships,” guard Mike Conley said. “When you have that type of mentality to go get every rebound, go get every block, defend every guy at the rim, we needed that. He came at the biggest moment of our season.”
- Will Hardy received a contract extension on Monday but the Jazz will need to replace at least one of his assistants. Assistant coach Evan Bradds has left the organization to join Duke’s staff, according to the school’s basketball social media account (Twitter link).
Atlantic Notes: Hart, Knicks, Robinson, Kornet, Nets
Josh Hart‘s contributions will be even more invaluable to the Knicks in their second-round series, which began tonight, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes.
While the Knicks were able to answer runs against the inexperienced Pistons in their first-round series, the defending champion Celtics possess a killer instinct to bury teams once momentum shifts their way. Hart can guide his teammates through those storms.
“For me, I’ve said it all year, it’s how can I get my guys going? How can I help them get an easy shot or an open look or get their energy into the game? A lot of that I do by example,” Hart said. “I’ll talk to guys obviously, but it’s making a big play here or there, a hustle play that will get one of those guys an open shot that they knock down, now they’re feeling good, the energy is up. That’s something I always try to do, that I hang my hat on.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- A big concern for the Knicks is matching up against the Celtics‘ bench, Schwartz notes. Boston has the Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, and several other contributors in reserve, while Miles McBride struggled during New York’s first-round series. Mitchell Robinson was the only second-unit player who provided consistent production against Detroit and they’ll need that again from him in this series.
- Speaking of Celtics reserves, Luke Kornet had to make a major career adjustment with the team. They asked him to be more of an interior presence, rather than joining the long list of big men tasked with stretching the floor. “It was actually really hard,” Kornet told Brian Robb of Masslive.com. “All of a sudden, the thing that I was most proud of and felt was my identity, and the reason I was in the NBA was kind of gone.”
- The Nets‘ stockpile of draft picks is more valuable than ever, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. They have multiple picks in this year’s loaded draft, plenty of extra picks and picks swap in future seasons. Cheap rookie contracts are more important now because of the restrictions in the current CBA.
Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson Named Coach Of Year
Kenny Atkinson has been named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link).
In his first year with the Cavaliers, Atkinson led the franchise to a 64-18 record and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Atkinson was hired by Cleveland after a three-year stint as one of Steve Kerr‘s top assistants with Golden State. Atkinson, who was also an assistant with three other NBA franchises, was Brooklyn’s head coach from 2016-20.
The Pistons‘ J.B. Bickerstaff and the Rockets’ Ime Udoka were the other finalists. Atkinson received 59 of the 100 first-place votes from the global media panel and accumulated 401 points in the voting. Bickerstaff earned 31 first-place votes and 305 points to finish second, while Udoka had seven first-place votes and 113 points.
After getting fired by the Cavs at the end of last season, Bickerstaff resurfaced in Detroit, where he led the Pistons to a stunning turnaround. Under Bickerstaff’s guidance, the Pistons improved from a franchise-worst 14 victories to 44 victories and a berth in the playoffs.
The Rockets finished second in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record, an 11-game improvement over their 2023/24 campaign.
Atkinson is the first Cavaliers coach to win the award since Mike Brown earned that distinction in 2009.
Outside of the finalists, only three other head coaches – Mark Daigneault (Thunder), Tyronn Lue (Clippers), and JJ Redick (Lakers) – showed up on Coach of the Year ballots, with Daigneault and Lue earning the remaining first-place votes. The full results can be found here.
And-Ones: Award Announcements, Draft Assets, Fournier, NBC Theme Song
The NBA will announce the Coach of the Year award winner on Monday evening, the league’s PR department tweets.
Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers), J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) and Ime Udoka (Rockets) are the three finalists. Atkinson, who led Cleveland to the best record in the East, is considered a heavy favorite to win the award.
The Executive of the Year award will be announced on Tuesday and the Social Justice Champion will be revealed on Wednesday.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Not surprisingly, the Thunder are ranked No. 1 in the league in terms of draft assets by ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo. They could potentially have three first-rounders in this year’s draft. They have six extra first-rounders in future years, plus swap rights to three years. They also own 17 future second-rounders. The Nets, Jazz, Rockets and Hornets round out the top five.
- Evan Fournier, who is currently looking to win a EuroLeague championship with Olympiacos in Greece, spoke about a handful of topics, including his disappointing experience with the Knicks, in an interview with Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required). Fournier played two-and-a-half seasons in New York and finished last season with the Pistons.
- “Roundball Rock” is back. NBC will bring back the sports theme song next season when the network begins its 11-year media rights deal to air NBA games. Music composer and radio and TV personality John Tesh wrote “Roundball Rock,” which became popular during NBC’s coverage of the league from 1990-2002, according to Jenna West of The Athletic.
Magic Could Target Anfernee Simons In Trade
Could Anfernee Simons solve the Magic‘s offensive issues? According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Trail Blazers guard has been increasingly projected around the league as a potential target for Orlando.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman indicated in a postseason press conference that upgrades this offseason would likely come via trades.
“Most of our roster upgrades are going to have to come more through swapping than just adding,” Weltman said. “The reason we’ve been a good team the last couple of years — and I do believe we are a good team — is because we’ve got an elite defensive backbone. And as as we look to improve our offense, we have to be very cognizant of not unraveling the DNA of our team. That’s what we have to balance this summer.”
Orlando had the league’s worst three-point percentage and Weltman vowed to address that problem, as well as others.
“What we need is proven shot-making, proven offensive play, someone that’s going to come in and help augment our weakness,” Weltman said. “Clearly, we need to get better offensively. Clearly, we need to shoot the ball better. Those are the goals and that’s the lens we need to look at as we enter the offseason. I don’t think anything’s off the table. Veteran help, proven offensive help is what we’re going to be looking for.”
Simons made 70 starts for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 19.3 points and 4.8 assists per game. He shot 42.6% overall and 36.3% from beyond the three-point arc. Simons is entering his walk year and will make $27.7MM next season.
Simons was believed to be one of the players the Blazers were willing to move prior to this season’s trade deadline. However, general manager Joe Cronin didn’t find a suitable offer.
Orlando seemingly made a major upgrade on the wing last offseason by signing free agent guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The former Nugget had a disappointing season with the Magic, averaging 8.7 points in 29.6 minutes per game while making 77 starts. His three-point percentage was a subpar 34.2%, his worst since the 2015/16 season. KCP made over 40% of his long-range attempts in his previous two seasons with Denver.
Losing Jalen Suggs after he played just 35 games was a major blow. Suggs averaged 16.2 points per game before he underwent season-ending surgery but Weltman’s comments indicated that Suggs’ return alone won’t put Orlando over the hump.
Latest From Stein, Fischer: Hawks, Iisalo, Suns, Doncic
The Hawks have begun the interviewing process for their next president of basketball operations, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer report in their latest rumor round-up at Substack.
The Hawks fired general manager Landry Fields last month and promoted Onsi Saleh to that role, but Atlanta wants to pair him with another top executive.
Sixers GM Elton Brand, former Nuggets GM Calvin Booth and former Kings GM Monte McNair have already undergone initial interviews for the position, apparently via Zoom, per Stein and Fischer.
Former BYU and EuroLeague swingman Travis Hansen and G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim are also on the Hawks’ radar.
Here’s more from Stein and Fischer:
- Grizzlies management was so interested in adding Tuomas Iisalo to their coaching staff that they sent multiple executives to France last season to evaluate and ultimately recruit him to Memphis. The Grizzlies gave him a seven-figure salary and also paid a seven-figure buyout last summer to hire him away from Paris Basketball. Iisalo replaced Taylor Jenkins late in the regular season and had the interim tag removed this past week.
- Newly hired Suns GM Brian Gregory is expected to conduct the team’s head coaching search, with more than a dozen candidates under consideration. Though Phoenix has strong interest in hiring a coach without previous NBA head coaching experience, there are two candidates who don’t fit that description — Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger. Borrego had a stint as Charlotte’s head coach, while Joerger has been a head coach with Memphis and Sacramento.
- Luka Doncic isn’t eligible for an extension until early August but the process has already begun. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick had dinner with Doncic and Doncic’s business manager, Lara Beth Seager, two nights after the Lakers were eliminated. The star guard has one year left on his current deal.
Celtics’ Jrue Holiday Removed From Injury Report
Jrue Holiday is off the injury report for Game 1 of the Celtics’ second-round series against the Knicks, as Brian Robb of MassLive.com writes.
The Celtics issued a clean injury report on Sunday, signaling they’ll be at full strength when they take the court for Monday’s home contest.
Holiday missed the final three games of Boston’s first-round series against Orlando due to a strained hamstring.
Holiday will likely be matched up defensively against the Knicks’ top offensive threat, Jalen Brunson. Brunson averaged 26.3 points and 5.8 assists against the Celtics this season but Boston swept the four-game season series.
Holiday, who won the NBA’s annual Sportsmanship Award, averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals during the regular season while starting 62 games. The scoring average was his lowest since his rookie season, but he’s a steadying force.
Holiday was instrumental in Boston’s title run last season, averaging 13.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists while committing just 1.5 turnovers per contest and earning second-team All-Defensive honors.
Pistons Notes: Thompson, Confidence, Cunningham, Stewart
Blood clotting issues ended Ausar Thompson‘s rookie season and delayed his sophomore campaign. However, the second-year wing emerged as a starter this season and played an integral role in the Pistons‘ 106-103 Game 5 victory over the Knicks on Tuesday. Thompson supplied 22 points, including a key late bucket, along with seven rebounds and two blocks as the Pistons staved off elimination.
Thompson was also the primary defender on Jalen Brunson, who was limited to 4-for-16 shooting and seven assists, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press notes.
“We did a great job of getting to our spots and executing the stuff we knew we could get to that created an advantage for us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It all started with Ausar and his defense. He was phenomenal defensively tonight. Offensively obviously he came up with 22 points, but I think it started with his defense and a lot of credit should be given to him.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Many people thought Detroit couldn’t recover from a controversial Game 4 loss in which the team blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead and was victimized by an official’s no-call in the closing seconds. The Pistons came to Madison Square Garden more determined than ever, Bickerstaff said. “I’m not surprised,” he said, per Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois. “This is what they’ve always shown to be and this is what we expected from them tonight.”
- Did Cade Cunningham offer a veiled guarantee of a Game 6 home victory on Thursday night? According to Jared Schwartz of the New York Post, Cunningham declared the series would return to New York for Game 7. “We’ll be back,” he said. Cunningham said the team thrives in hostile environments. Both of its wins in the series have come on the road. “It’s everything you dream of. Playing with a full arena, a bunch of people booing you, that’s everything you dream of,” he said.
- The Pistons have been able to keep the Knicks under control despite the absence of their interior defensive stopper. Isaiah Stewart missed his fourth consecutive game due to right knee inflammation, as Sankofa relays. The Pistons have used Paul Reed off the bench in his absence with Jalen Duren getting the bulk of the minutes when he’s been able to avoid foul trouble.