Knicks Notes: Offseason, Randle, Rose, Cap Room
The Knicks exceeded expectations all regular season long, but the magic didn’t extend into the playoffs — the team’s season came to an end on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, as a 103-89 Hawks victory secured a 4-1 series win for Atlanta.
Despite the postseason disappointment, the Knicks built a strong foundation during the last several months for what comes next, head coach Tom Thibodeau said on Wednesday, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
“I couldn’t ask for any more from the team,” Thibodeau said. “They were a joy to be around every day. I have great respect for the effort they put forth, their togetherness. We fell short in the end. We’ll look at it. We’ll learn, grow. We know the challenge will be greater next year.”
As Begley observes, the Knicks will have a pair of first-round picks in the 2021 draft and could create up to $60MM in cap room, so they’ll have the assets necessary to improve their roster. Play-making and shooting will be priorities, with point guard among the positions the team will be looking to upgrade, Begley adds.
Before the offseason begins in earnest though, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the Knicks’ season, says Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. No NBA team outperformed preseason expectations by a great margin than the Knicks, who made the playoffs for the first time in eight years and provided their fans with some optimism for the future.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Michael Scotto of HoopsHype talked to eight NBA executives and five scouts about the Knicks’ next move with Julius Randle, who will be extension-eligible this offseason. Several of them suggested they’d prefer to wait on a new deal for Randle, following his career year in 2020/21. “If they go another year under his current contract to let him prove that this year wasn’t a fluke, they’ll still have Bird Rights and can always give him an extra year more than other teams when he’s an unrestricted free agent,” one executive said to Scotto.
- The Knicks will have to decide whether re-signing their own free agents, pursuing outside free agents, or being active on the trade market represents the best use of their potential cap room, writes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link). The most likely approach will probably involve combination of the three.
- In a pair of stories, Marc Berman of The New York Post explores the likelihood of each of the Knicks’ free agents returning and specifically examines Derrick Rose‘s future. “I would love to come back,” Rose said after Wednesday’s loss. “Who wouldn’t want to play for the Knicks or be in New York? I would love it, but at the same time, I know it’s out of my hands and they may have bigger plans.”
- Despite the Knicks’ success this season, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News suggests the team’s roster still has more questions than answers.
Wizards Notes: Brooks, Westbrook, Beal, Gafford
Following the Wizards‘ elimination from the playoffs on Wednesday night, the franchise will face a number of crucial offseason decisions, starting with the future of head coach Scott Brooks. Brooks doesn’t have a contract beyond this season, but indicated after last night’s loss to Philadelphia that he’d like to remain in his current role.
“I love it here. There’s no decision in my mind, I love it here,” Brooks said, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
The decision on Brooks will ultimately be up to Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard and owner Ted Leonsis, but it’s possible they’ll seek input from the team’s star players. And it doesn’t sound like they’re looking for a change. As Candace Buckner of The Washington Post relays, Bradley Beal referred to Brooks as a “true player’s coach,” while Russell Westbrook endorsed the man who also coached him in Oklahoma City.
“If it was up to me, Scotty wouldn’t be going anywhere. It’s not even a question or a conversation to even be brought up,” Westbrook said, according to Hughes. “If the conversation is brought to me, I will definitely voice my opinion like I’m voicing it now and see what happens.”
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- Beal’s future will also be a major topic of discussion in D.C. this offseason as the All-Star guard enters a contract year, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Beal said on Wednesday that he’s making an effort not to focus on the inevitable rumors. “Ultimately, I’m in control,” Beal said. “I think that’s my biggest thing. People are going to report whatever they want, but I know where my mind is and I know if it’s not coming from the horse’s mouth, then it’s going to be rumors. I expect them. S–t, they’re starting now.”
- David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the Wizards can’t – and won’t – trade Beal this offseason, but that they owe it to him to be bold in reshaping and upgrading the roster around him.
- In his look at the Wizards’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) notes that Beal will be eligible for a four-year extension worth a projected $181MM this offseason. Marks also examines the team’s proximity to the luxury tax line and identifies wing defenders and depth as top summer priorities.
- Recently-acquired big man Daniel Gafford, who looks to be part of the Wizards’ future, says he’ll be looking to put on weight and work on his conditioning during the summer, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. “If I wanna be out there 20-plus minutes every single night, my conditioning has to be top-tier,” Gafford said.
Poll Results: Hoops Rumors’ 2021 All-NBA Teams
The competition for the league’s 15 All-NBA spots was fiercer than ever in 2020/21, with tens of millions of dollars up for grabs for certain players based on the voting results. Since the NBA has already started to announce its end-of-season award winners, we wanted to give you an opportunity to vote on the All-NBA rosters for 2020/21 before they’re officially revealed.
Last Wednesday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team. We moved on to the Second Team last Friday, then opened the polls for the Third Team on Monday. The results of all those polls are in, so let’s check them out.
- Guard: Stephen Curry (Warriors)
- Guard: Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Forward: Joel Embiid (Sixers)
- Center: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Guard: Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Guard: Bradley Beal (Wizards)
- Forward: Julius Randle (Knicks)
- Forward: LeBron James (Lakers)
- Center: Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
- Guard: Chris Paul (Suns)
- Guard: Devin Booker (Suns)
- Forward: Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
- Forward: Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
- Center: Bam Adebayo (Heat)
Your top vote-getters in the final round of polling who didn’t quite earn spots on the Third Team: Nets guard James Harden, Nets forward Kevin Durant, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, and Pacers center Domantas Sabonis.
I think these All-NBA teams turned out pretty well, though mine would look a little different. I felt that Jimmy Butler, rather than Adebayo, was the most valuable Heat player this season, so I’d move Embiid to the Second Team and Gobert to the Third Team to open up a guard/forward spot for Butler.
I also might consider Doncic a forward to create room for Lillard on the First Team. Doncic isn’t really a forward, but I think he has a better case for the position than Embiid, and I’m not sure there’s another worthy First Team forward besides Antetokounmpo.
Additionally, even though all three Nets stars missed significant time, it seems wrong to have no Brooklyn players on the All-NBA teams this season, since the club had the league’s fourth-best regular season record and is the favorite to win a title. Durant missed over half the season and Harden played just 44 of 72 games — throw in Harden’s questionable behavior in Houston at the start of the season, and Kyrie Irving actually might have the strongest case of the three.
Irving was spectacular this season, with 26.9 PPG and 6.0 APG on an eye-popping .506/.402/.922 shooting line. Still, even he only played three-quarters of the season (54 games). Do his contributions outweigh Booker’s 25.6 PPG and 4.3 APG on .484/.340/.867 shooting in 67 games? I think the answer for me might be yes, but Booker is a fine Third Team choice.
It will be interesting to see which way the official voters go. Deciding on which positions to assign certain players could play a major role in the final results, since they’ll have a ripple effect on subsequent selections.
What do you think? Do you disagree strongly with any of these choices? Do you expect major discrepancies when the official All-NBA teams are announced? Let us know in the comment section!
Longtime Hornets Reporter Rick Bonnell Passes Away
Veteran NBA beat writer Rick Bonnell, who covered the Hornets for The Charlotte Observer, was found dead in his home on Tuesday, according to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell was 63 years old.
If you’re a regular Hoops Rumors reader, you’ll certainly recognize Bonnell’s name. He has been one of the primary sources for Hornets news and rumors for over three decades, having reported on the franchise since its first season in 1988/89. We were linking to Bonnell’s stories on the Hornets’ upcoming offseason as recently as last week.
According to Fowler, Bonnell’s cause of death has yet to be determined, though police said there was no reason to suspect foul play. He was found by a friend in his Charlotte home at about 7:00pm on Tuesday evening.
While I never personally met Bonnell, he was by all accounts one of the friendliest and most generous reporters on the NBA beat. His passing has been met with shock and sadness by his fellow NBA reporters on social media.
“To sit next to Bonnell at a Hornets game, as I did hundreds of times over the years, was like sitting next to a hilarious version of a Hornets Wikipedia page,” Fowler wrote in his story about his longtime colleague. “… Bonnell also never lost the joy of covering a one-point game with three seconds left. He would rub his hands together sometimes when he was excited, almost like a kid, and he often did so just before a moment like that.”
We at Hoops Rumors send our heartfelt condolences to Bonnell’s family and friends. The Hornets beat won’t be the same without him.
Joel Embiid Has Small Meniscus Tear, Out For Game 5
The Sixers have provided an official update on Joel Embiid‘s status, announcing (via Twitter) that an MRI on the big man’s injured right knee revealed a small lateral meniscus tear.
Embiid will be sidelined for Game 5 on Wednesday, according to the Sixers. However, the club has yet to rule him out beyond that, stating that he’ll be considered day-to-day going forward. His injury will be managed with a physical therapy and treatment program.
While it’s good news that Embiid doesn’t have a more serious injury, any level of meniscus tear is worrisome, so it’s hardly a best-case scenario for the 76ers.
Multiple treatment options are available for meniscus injuries, including surgery, but it sounds like the club will opt not to have its All-Star center go under the knife, since that would result in an absence of at least multiple weeks, if not months.
Even with no surgery, I wouldn’t count on Embiid necessarily being ready to return within the next few days. Managing swelling and pain in his right knee will play a significant part in how soon he’s able to play again, notes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
With Embiid unavailable, the Sixers figure to lean more heavily on frontcourt players like Dwight Howard and Mike Scott in Game 5 on Wednesday. Philadelphia has a 3-1 lead and can close out its first-round series with a win over the Wizards.
Celtics Rumors: Kemba, Fournier, Coaching Search, Ainge, Stevens, More
As he transitions from the sidelines to the front office, new Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens will have some immediate decisions to make on the roster this offseason as he considers how to improve a group that finished seventh in the East in 2020/21.
Trading Kemba Walker is one path the Celtics figure to consider this summer, but the point guard still has two years and nearly $74MM left on his contract and his value is down after an injury-plagued season. While Walker is viewed as a player capable of having a strong comeback season, he’s not considered a positive asset at this point, given his injury history and contract situation, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps and Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
“They’ve been trying to move Kemba Walker for a year now and no one is touching that,” one NBA executive told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “Their best bet would be to move (Marcus) Smart, but I don’t know what his market is. They could trade (Jaylen) Brown to try to fill a different position, but that would be a bad move.”
Evan Fournier‘s unrestricted free agency is another issue looming over the Celtics. One league executive who spoke to Scotto estimated that the veteran wing will be seeking a deal worth $15-20MM annually, though another predicted a cool market for Fournier.
“The issue will be what teams with room are going to target him?” that exec asked. “San Antonio might, but if not, who else will give him north of $10 million? If Fournier can be kept at a price around the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, I think Boston would re-sign him.”
Here are several more Celtics rumors and updates on an eventful day in Boston:
- The Celtics’ head coaching search will likely start with internal candidates before they move outside the organization, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Current assistant Jerome Allen is one in-house candidate likely to get an interview, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Mannix (via Twitter) adds Nets assistant Ime Udoka to the list of probable external candidates for the Celtics’ head coaching job, while Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) says Chauncey Billups will likely receive consideration as well.
- Asked today whether he intends to retire or seek another job, Danny Ainge was noncommittal, telling reporters that he’s not sure what his future holds and he’s focused for now on getting his successor Stevens up to speed (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN).
- Jared Weiss of The Athletic hears that in-season comments by Ainge and team owner Wyc Grousbeck about the Celtics’ shortcomings may have contributed to the club’s chemistry issues. Ainge said in February that he didn’t view the roster as championship-caliber and echoed that point multiple times later in the season.
- One prominent member of the Celtics organization wanted to fire Stevens as the team’s head coach during the 2020/21 season, but Ainge and others in the organization were against that idea, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
- Speaking to reporters following the Celtics’ elimination from the postseason, Jayson Tatum said he doesn’t feel the need to get involved in the front office’s personnel decisions, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston takes a look at five key roster-related questions facing the Celtics this offseason.
NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2021 Draft
The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2021 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 353 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 296 are from colleges, while 57 are international early entrants.
That number obliterates the previous record of 236 early entrants, established in 2018. That had been expected, however, since the NCAA gave players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in seniors having to decide between staying at college for one more season or declaring for the draft as an “early” entrant.
Since well over half of the college early entrants are seniors, there are actually fewer college underclassmen than usual in this initial group of early entrants.
This year’s total of 353 early entrants figures to shrink significantly by July 7 and again by July 19, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like the pool will remain extremely crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants certain to exceed 60, the number of picks in the draft.
Our tracker of early entrants for the 2021 draft now includes seniors and is fully up to date. It can be found right here. It doesn’t include players who are automatically draft-eligible this year. As Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets, that list of auto-eligible players includes the prospects who played for the G League Ignite, such as Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga.
Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:
Newly-added players:
College players:
These players hadn’t previously been included on our unofficial list of underclassmen early entrants and weren’t on the list of senior early entrants that the NBA sent to teams last week.
- Josiah Agnew, G, Denmark Technical College (SC) (freshman)
- Justin Bean, F, Utah State (junior)
- Chudier Bile, F, Georgetown (senior)
- Jahvon Blair, G, Georgetown (senior)
- Isaac Bonton, G, Washington State (senior)
- Izaiah Brockington, G, Penn State (junior)
- Chaundee Brown, G, Michigan (senior)
- D.J. Burns Jr., F, Winthrop (sophomore)
- Maurice Calloo, F, Oregon State (junior)
- Trevion Crews, G, Bethel (IN) (senior)
- Sam Cunliffe, G/F, Evansville (junior)
- Cartier Diarra, G, Virginia Tech (senior)
- Lydell Elmore, F, High Point (senior)
- Hasahn French, F, Saint Louis (senior)
- Gorjok Gak, C, California Baptist (senior)
- Patrick Greene Jr., G, National Park College (AR) (sophomore)
- Jordan Hall, F, St. Joseph’s (freshman)
- Kashaun Hicks, G/F, Norfolk State (senior)
- Taveion Hollingsworth, G, Western Kentucky (senior)
- Trevor Hudgins, G, NW Missouri State (junior)
- Anthony Hughes Jr., G, Millsaps College (MS) (senior)
- Damien Jefferson, G/F, Creighton (senior)
- Bryson Johnson, G, Univ. of The Ozarks (AR) (senior)
- Latrell Jones, G, Portland (junior)
- Miller Kopp, F, Northwestern (junior)
- Kameron Langley, G, North Carolina A&T (senior)
- Matt Lewis, G, James Madison (senior)
- Makuach Maluach, G/F, New Mexico (senior)
- Steffon Mitchell, F, Boston College (senior)
- Matthew Moyer, F, George Washington (senior)
- Issa Muhammad, F, Daytona State (FL) (sophomore)
- Joel Ntambwe, F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Kobi Nwandu, F, Niagara (senior)
- Kevin Obanor, F, Oral Roberts (junior)
- Chris Parker, G, Liberty (senior)
- Jordan Phillips, G/F, UT Arlington (junior)
- Alex Reese, F, Alabama (senior)
- Shawn Royal Jr., G/F, Victory Rock Prep (FL) (post-graduate)
- Marcus Sasser, G, Houston (sophomore)
- Ronaldo Segu, G, Buffalo (junior)
- Roman Silva, C, Oregon State (senior)
- Chris Smith, F, UCLA (senior)
- TJ Starks, G, Cal State Northridge (junior)
- Jeremiah Tilmon, C, Missouri (senior)
- Kyree Walker, G/F, Hillcrest Prep Academy (AZ) (post-graduate)
- Keaton Wallace, G, UTSA (senior)
- Isaiah Washington, G, Long Beach State (senior)
- Richard Washington Jr., G/F, San Jose State (senior)
- Brandon Williams, G, Arizona (sophomore)
- Jeenathan Williams, G/F, Buffalo (junior)
- Bryce Wills, G/F, Stanford (junior)
- Sidney Wilson, G/F, SIU-Edwardsville (junior)
International players:
These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.
- Vinicius Da Silva, C, Spain (born 2001)
- Aristide Mouaha, G, Italy (born 2000)
- Vladislav Odinokov, F/C, Russia (born 2000)
- Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
- Tomas Pavelka, C, Spain (born 2000)
- Franger Pirela, G, Spain (born 2002)
- Nemanja Popovic, F, Serbia (born 2001)
- Jaime Pradilla, F/C, Spain (born 2001)
- Sitraka Raharimanantoanina, F, France (born 2001)
- Hugo Robineau, G, France (born 2000)
- Nikos Rogavopoulos, F, Greece (born 2001)
- Alexander Shashkov, C, Russia (born 2000)
- Luc Van Slooten, F, Germany (born 2002)
Players removed:
Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.
That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.
In any case, we’ve removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being.
- Isaiah Adams, F, UCF (freshman)
- James Akinjo, G, Arizona (junior)
- Avery Anderson, G, Oklahoma State (sophomore)
- Sardaar Calhoun, G, Florida State (junior)
- Michael Devoe, G, Georgia Tech (junior)
- Ron Harper Jr., G/F, Rutgers (junior)
- Justin Minaya, F, South Carolina (junior)
- Malachi Smith, G, Chattanooga (sophomore)
- Shamiel Stevenson, G/F, Nebraska (junior)
- Eric Williams Jr. , G/F, Oregon (junior)
Brad Stevens Named Celtics’ Head Of Basketball Operations, Will Lead Search For New Coach
10:06am: The Celtics have officially announced that Stevens is the new president of basketball operations. Despite at least one report suggesting that Ainge isn’t expected to retire from basketball (as noted below), the club’s statement says the veteran executive is “retiring” from his role as president of basketball ops. Ainge will continue to work with the team through its offseason transition, per the C’s.
“Helping guide this organization has been the thrill of a lifetime, and having worked side-by-side with him since he’s been here, I know we couldn’t be in better hands than with Brad guiding the team going forward,” Ainge said in a statement. “I’m grateful to ownership, all of my Celtics colleagues, and the best fans in basketball for being part of the journey.”
Stevens issued a statement of his own, as follows:
“I’m grateful to ownership and to Danny for trusting me with this opportunity. I’m excited to tackle this new role, starting with a wide ranging and comprehensive search for our next head coach. I love the Celtics, and know the great honor and responsibility that comes with this job. I will give it everything I have to help us be in position to consistently compete for championships.”
9:24am: A major shakeup is taking place in Boston, as Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will indeed step down from his current role, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski had reported earlier in the morning that Ainge was seriously considering such a move.
The Celtics won’t go outside the organization for Ainge’s replacement, however. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), head coach Brad Stevens will be making the move from the sidelines to the front office and will become the club’s new president of basketball operations.
Rather than holding a dual role, Stevens will become a full-time front office executive and is expected to lead the search for the Celtics’ new head coach, Charania reports.
Celtics players were informed of this potential change late on Tuesday night after the team was eliminated from the playoffs, says Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Ainge had been contemplating leaving his job as the Celtics’ president of basketball operations for the last several months, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who adds that Ainge had discussed possible succession plans with ownership.
While Stevens is a surprising choice as Ainge’s successor, Wojnarowski points out that Ainge made a similar move early in his post-playing career, having coached the Suns from 1996-99 before later transitioning into a front office role. According to Woj (Twitter link), Stevens has been described as feeling “worn down” with coaching since last summer and welcome the opportunity to shift into an executive position.
This major basketball operations overhaul comes on the heels of the Celtics’ early exit from the postseason. After making the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four years, Boston entered the season with aspirations of competing for a title.
However, due to COVID-19 issues, injuries, and inconsistent play, the team never built any real momentum toward legit contention, finishing seventh in the East. Although the C’s earned a postseason berth via the play-in tournament, they were eliminated swiftly in the first round by the Nets.
Despite the Celtics’ disappointing season, Stevens and Ainge – one of the longest-tenured coach/executive duos in the NBA – weren’t thought to be in any real danger of being fired. It appears Ainge’s exit is of his own volition after he spent the last 18 years calling the shots in the team’s front office.
Even though his time with the Celtics is ending, Ainge isn’t believed to be leaning toward retirement, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who tweets that the Jazz have been rumored as a possible landing spot for the veteran exec.
Meanwhile, Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and former Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce are expected to be among the candidates to fill Boston’s newly-created head coaching vacancy, according to Haynes (Twitter link).
In his eight seasons as the Celtics’ head coach, Stevens led the team to a 354-282 (.557) regular season record, with a 38-40 (.487) mark in the playoffs, including those three Eastern Finals appearances. As for Ainge, the C’s made the postseason in all but three of his 18 seasons running the front office, taking home a title in 2008.
Ainge’s trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen helped lead the Celtics to a title in 2008. Additionally, the blockbuster deal that sent an aging Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets for a boatload of draft picks in 2013 is considered one of the biggest NBA heists of the century, putting Boston in position to land Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in subsequent drafts.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Danny Ainge Considering Stepping Down From Role With Celtics
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is seriously considering his future with the team and could make the decision to step down from his position in the front office, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski’s report comes on the heels of the Celtics’ exit from the postseason. After making the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four years, Boston entered the season with aspirations of competing for a title. However, due to COVID-19 issues, injuries, and inconsistent play, the team never built momentum toward legit contention, finishing seventh in the East. While the C’s earned a postseason berth via the play-in tournament, they were eliminated swiftly in the first round by the Nets.
We’ll have to wait for more details on Ainge’s thinking, but it’s worth noting that the veteran executive has had some health scares in the past. He suffered a mild heart attack in 2009, then another in 2019. Ainge took some time away from the job after that second heart attack two years ago, and later talked about it serving as a wake-up call to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Still, Chris Mannix of SI.com, who suggested on Tuesday night that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Ainge leaving the Celtics, hears that the 62-year-old likely wouldn’t retire if he stepped down from his position in Boston. The expectation is that he’d seek another opportunity in that scenario, tweets Mannix.
Ainge is one of the NBA’s longest-tenured presidents of basketball operations, having held the role with the Celtics since 2003. His tenure in that position is exceeded by only Gregg Popovich (Spurs) and Pat Riley (Heat), both of whom have been presidents of basketball operations since the mid-1990s.
During his 18 years in Boston, Ainge has made a series of memorable deals. His trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen helped lead the Celtics to a title in 2008. Additionally, the blockbuster deal that sent an aging Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets for a boatload of draft picks in 2013 is considered one of the biggest heists of the century, putting Boston in position to land Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in subsequent drafts.
A handful of Ainge’s moves in recent years haven’t panned out quite as well. The Celtics haven’t had a great hit rate on draft picks besides Tatum and Brown, and their last star trade acquisition (Kyrie Irving) departed after just two up-and-down seasons.
Draft Notes: Sherman, Pecarski, Gauzin, More
West Virginia guard Taz Sherman has decided not to keep his name in the 2021 NBA draft and will instead return to the Mountaineers, the school announced today in a press release.
Sherman was one of the names on the list of 130+ seniors sent to NBA teams last week. However, rather than go through the full draft process, he has made an early decision to pull out and take advantage of his extra year of NCAA eligibility.
In 28 games (24.3 MPG) in 2020/21, Sherman averaged 13.4 PPG on .413/.359/.873 shooting.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- Serbian forward/center Marko Pecarski and French point guard Matthieu Gauzin have declared for the 2021 draft, agent Daniel Moldovan tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Pecarski spent the ’20/21 season with KK FMP in Serbia, while Gauzin played for Champagne Chalons-Reims in France.
- With the early entry deadline for draft prospects having passed, Jeremy Woo of SI.com takes a look at some of the notable college players who opted to return to school rather than entering the draft pool. Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, and Colorado’s Jabari Walker are among the players Woo suggests keeping an eye on next season.
- Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) considers how certain recent NBA trends, including the success of a smaller guard like Trae Young and the bigger lineups that some contenders have used, could impact prospects in this year’s draft class. Schmitz also explores which non-lottery picks in 2021 could contribute in the postseason a year from now.