Northwest Notes: Barton, Boylen, Blazers, Thunder, Gobert
Nuggets wing Will Barton made it clear multiple times earlier this month that he believes he deserves to be a starter. However, after coming off the bench in Wednesday’s opener, Barton said he’s happy for Michael Porter Jr. – who has been promoted to the starting lineup – and is prepared to accept his new sixth man role, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post writes.
“My concern is not about (starting) anymore once I channel my energy to where it has to be,” Barton said. “That’s where I am, so I’m locked in right now, I’m coming off the bench. I’m not trying to worry about if I’m gonna start again. Right now I’ve got a job to do, and that’s my focus is to come off the bench and try to change the game for us and still help us win games.”
While Barton may not have started the Nuggets’ opener, he got the opportunity to finish it, playing all five minutes of overtime in Denver’s loss to Sacramento.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- The Trail Blazers brought in former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen for a three-week consultation to help Portland’s coaching staff implement a more aggressive defense, says Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I was intrigued with his ideas and what he did in Chicago,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said of Boylen. “And we will be using some of the things he talked about and augmenting some of his other things with what we already do.”
- Even after stockpiling future draft picks for a second consecutive offseason, the Thunder may not be done, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who points out that the team could continue to extract draft assets in deals for Al Horford, George Hill, and Trevor Ariza, or by using a pair of giant trade exceptions to accommodate salary dumps.
- ESPN’s Lisa Salters conducted an in-depth interview with Jazz center Rudy Gobert, discussing his path to the NBA, how it felt to become the league’s “patient zero” for COVID-19, and his relationship with Donovan Mitchell, among other topics. “We had conversations as grown men, and we told each other what we had on our minds,” Gobert said of mending his relationship with Mitchell. “And the end of the conversation was that our goal was to win a championship together and, you know, I thought it was really mature from both of us to come out of the conversation like that.”
Players To Lose 1/81.6th Of Salary For Each Game Missed Due To COVID-19 Protocol Violation
JANUARY 12: Players who miss games due to COVID-19 protocol violations will actually forfeit 1/81.6th of their salary for 2020/21, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
DECEMBER 24: When an NBA player is suspended, he generally loses 1/145th of his salary for each game he misses. A long-term suspension of 20 games or more forces the player to forfeit 1/110th of his salary per game. The penalty for missing a game this season due to a violation of COVID-19 protocols is even more severe.
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), the NBA will dock a player 1/72nd of his salary for each game he misses as a result of violating the league’s coronavirus protocols. The number is based on the 72-game season.
This penalty would have applied to James Harden if the Rockets‘ game against the Thunder had been played on Wednesday night, since the NBA determined the former MVP violated health and safety protocols by attending an indoor party of 15 or more people.
However, that opening-night contest was postponed because several other Rockets players were unavailable due to positive or inconclusive tests (or subsequent contact tracing) and the club didn’t have eight healthy players available. Since the game will be rescheduled, if possible, Harden didn’t technically miss it. As such, he was instead hit with a $50K fine by the NBA.
It’s not yet known how many negative coronavirus tests Harden will have to return before he’s cleared by the NBA to play following his COVID-19 protocol violation. If he hasn’t yet received clearance for the Rockets’ game on Saturday in Portland, it would cost him significantly more than $50K — 1/72nd of his $41,254,920 salary works out to $572,895 in lost money for each game he misses due to a protocol violation.
Harden is one of the NBA’s highest-paid players, so even though the 1/72 ratio applies to everyone equally, only a small handful of other stars would lose as much as $573K per game for violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols. A player earning the rookie minimum of $898,310, for instance, would be docked $12,477 for each game missed.
And-Ones: International Games, ASG, Barea, Marijuana, Swanigan
While the NBA often plays preseason games in China and regular season games in Mexico and Europe, that won’t be possible during the 2020/21 season due to the coronavirus — plans for a regular season contest in Paris had to be tabled. However, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, the league is looking into scenarios that would allow games to be played overseas again in ’21/22.
“We do anticipate that once it becomes healthy and safe to be able to do that that we’ll return to a schedule of international preseason and regular-season games,” deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said.
Meanwhile, the 2021 All-Star Game is also in jeopardy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but it sounds like the NBA hasn’t entirely ruled out the possibility that some sort of All-Star event could still take place. Commissioner Adam Silver said on TNT on Tuesday that the status of the All-Star Game is “yet to be decided depending on how things go,” as Adam Zagoria of Forbes tweets.
Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Although no deal appears imminent for J.J. Barea, the veteran free agent guard is staying in game shape and remains intent on playing this season, either in the U.S. or internationally, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
- It seems likely that the NBA and NBPA will eventually negotiate the reduction or removal of marijuana-related penalties in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but Adam Silver is wary of creating issues for players in cities where the drug has not yet been legalized or decriminalized, writes Bill Shea of The Athletic. “We want to make sure we’re not creating a trap for our players and putting in place rules that will put them in the crosshairs of the law,” Silver said.
- NBPA executive director Michele Roberts made it clear, within Shea’s story, that she’ll push for the removal of marijuana testing before the current CBA expires. “I don’t see any reason to test for marijuana or cannabis. That’s just nuts. Same for alcohol,” Roberts said. “Are we in the 21st century or what? What are we doing here? I think it’s absurd.”
- Speaking of marijuana, former Trail Blazers forward Caleb Swanigan received a reminder that he’s not in Oregon anymore, having been arrested for marijuana possession early on Wednesday morning in Indiana, reports Justin L. Mack of The Indianapolis Star. Police said they found over three pounds of marijuana in Swanigan’s vehicle following a traffic stop.
Latest On Rockets’ Roster Situation For Opener
Half the Rockets‘ roster appears to be in jeopardy for the team’s opener against the Thunder, according to reports. As we relayed earlier today, James Harden may not be able to play tonight due to an apparent violation of the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, while several other players are caught up in contact tracing after KJ Martin returned a positive COVID-19 test.
As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN explains (via Twitter), Martin tested positive and then returned a negative test in the last 24 hours. Martin and the Rockets are now awaiting the results of another test.
Several players that were in close contact with Martin have reportedly been sent home for contact tracing purposes as the team awaits the latest test results. Earlier today, we learned that group of players includes John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Jae’Sean Tate. Wojnarowski (Twitter link) adds two-way player Mason Jones to that list. However, there’s no indication that any of those players have tested positive.
In addition to the six players noted above, the Rockets are also missing Chris Clemons (torn Achilles) and Ben McLemore (self-isolating due to COVID-19). That would leave just eight players of the team’s 16-man squad available for tonight’s game — as Wojnarowski points out (via Twitter), that’s the minimum number of active players mandated by league rules.
Since this is the first instance of a potential positive test affecting an NBA regular season game since March 11, we’re in wait-and-see mode to see how the team and the league will handle it. If Martin returns another negative test and it’s determined that his positive test was a false positive, it would seemingly open the door for him – and those players in close contact with him – to be activated.
Meanwhile, Harden – who had COVID-19 over the summer prior to the restart, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon – tested negative on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
According to Shelburne, the league is still reviewing Harden’s situation and potential eligibility for tonight’s game. Harden, who was captured in a video that appears to show him partying at a Houston club this week – told investigators that he believed he was in compliance with the NBA’s healthy and safety protocols, Shelburne adds (via Twitter).
As Shelburne details, Harden told the league he attended a seated dinner for a friend who had been promoted at work and took a photo with her when he gave her a gift. He claimed he came in through a separate entrance and sat in a separate section of the venue with his security detail, then left after about 30 minutes (all Twitter links).
Bucks Exercising 2021/22 Option On Donte DiVincenzo
The Bucks are picking up the fourth-year option on Donte DiVincenzo‘s rookie scale contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move guarantees DiVincenzo’s $4.68MM salary for the 2021/22 season.
The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, DiVincenzo didn’t play much as a rookie, but took on a larger role in his second season in 2019/20, averaging 9.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .455/.336/.733 shooting in 66 games (23.0 MPG).
DiVincenzo was rumored to be included in an offseason trade that would have brought Bogdan Bogdanovic to Milwaukee, but when that deal fell apart, the former Villanova standout ended up staying put. Now he’s slated to play a larger role for the Bucks in his third year as a pro, as Charania notes.
With his fourth-year option exercised, DiVincenzo is now eligible to sign a rookie scale extension in 2021 or to reach restricted free agency in 2022.
The Celtics, Warriors, Clippers, Timberwolves, Thunder, Sixers, Blazers, and Wizards are among the teams with 2021/22 option decisions still to make before next Tuesday’s deadline, as our tracker shows.
Raptors Notes: Anunoby, Tampa, Harden, Watson, Davis
After signing a four-year contract extension with the Raptors on Monday, OG Anunoby said that he decided to prioritize long-term security over attempting to maximize his potential earnings with a strong contract year.
“Just not knowing what the future holds and just securing something,” Anunoby said in explaining his motivation, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). “Risk, reward… We definitely thought about it. We considered it. We went back and forth, for sure.”
Anunoby, who is already an excellent defender, said on Tuesday that he believes he’s capable of more on offense than he has shown, tweets Lewenberg. If that’s the case, his four-year, $72MM contract could end up being a steal for the Raptors. Either way, the deal won’t prevent the team from opening up enough cap room to pursue an impact player or two during the 2021 offseason, as Lewenberg writes at TSN.ca.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic takes an interesting and in-depth look at the steps the Raptors took to relocate the team from Toronto to Tampa for the start of the 2020/21 season.
- Does it make sense for the Raptors to pursue a trade for James Harden? Murphy and Eric Koreen of The Athletic weigh the pros and cons, and debate what a Raptors offer might look like.
- Steven Loung of Sportsnet.ca examines the long, winding road taken to a spot on an NBA roster by Paul Watson, who was promoted from a two-way contract to Toronto’s 15-man squad over the weekend.
- Terence Davis‘ lawyers and Manhattan assistant district attorney Mellisa Reilly are “very hopeful” that they’ll soon be able to resolve the criminal case involving the Raptors guard, Loung writes elsewhere at Sportsnet.ca. Davis’ next adjournment date is set for February 19, but a deal may be reached before then.
2020/21 NBA Over/Unders: Recap
Over the last week, we’ve been examining projections for all 30 NBA teams for the 2020/21 season, publishing polls asking how many games each club will win. With the help of lines from professional oddsmakers, we’ve had you vote on whether each team will go over or under a given win total, from the Bucks (51.5) all the way through to the Knicks, Pistons, and Thunder (22.5 apiece).
Here are the full results of those votes:
Eastern Conference
- Boston Celtics (45.5 wins): Over (66.3%)
- Brooklyn Nets (45.5 wins): Over (58.6%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (44.5 wins): Over (57.4%)
- Toronto Raptors (42.5 wins): Over (54.7%)
- New York Knicks (22.5 wins): Under (59.5%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (51.5 wins): Over (73.7%)
- Indiana Pacers (39.5 wins): Over (57.9%)
- Chicago Bulls (29.5 wins): Under (61.6%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (23.5 wins): Under (68.5%)
- Detroit Pistons (22.5 wins): Over (53.9%)
- Miami Heat (44.5 wins): Over (67.6%)
- Atlanta Hawks (36.5 wins): Over (58.0%)
- Washington Wizards (34.5 wins): Under (50.7%)
- Orlando Magic (31.5 wins): Under (73.5%)
- Charlotte Hornets (26.5 wins): Over (56.3%)
Western Conference
- Denver Nuggets (44.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
- Utah Jazz (42.5 wins): Over (59.9%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (41.5 wins): Over (70.1%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (29.5 wins): Under (50.3%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (22.5 wins): Under (64.4%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (48.5 wins): Over (79.1%)
- Los Angeles Clippers (47.5 wins): Under (50.4%)
- Phoenix Suns (40.5 wins): Over (51.0%)
- Golden State Warriors (38.5 wins): Over (60.3%)
- Sacramento Kings (29.5 wins): Under (60.7%)
- Dallas Mavericks (43.5 wins): Over (73.6%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (36.5 wins): Over (58.0%)
- Houston Rockets (35.5 wins): Under (50.4%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (32.5 wins): Over (53.8%)
- San Antonio Spurs (30.5 wins): Under (62.3%)
The main takeaway from these results: Our voters very much expect good teams to be good and the bad teams to be bad in 2020/21.
Of the 17 teams with projected win totals of 36.5 or higher, only one – the Clippers – was voted “under.” Meanwhile, of the 10 teams with a projected win total of 31.5 or less, only two – the Pistons and Hornets – were voted “over.”
Here were the five “over” bets that received the largest vote shares:
- Los Angeles Lakers, 48.5 wins: 79.1%
- Milwaukee Bucks, 51.5 wins: 73.7%
- Dallas Mavericks, 43.5 wins: 73.6%
- Portland Trail Blazers, 41.5 wins: 70.1%
- Denver Nuggets, 44.5 wins: 69.7%
Here are the five “under” bets that received the largest vote shares:
- Orlando Magic, 31.5 wins: 73.5%
- Cleveland Cavaliers, 23.5 wins: 68.5%
- Oklahoma City Thunder, 22.5 wins: 64.4%
- San Antonio Spurs, 30.5 wins: 62.3%
- Chicago Bulls, 29.5 wins: 61.6%
Betting on some of the NBA’s worst teams to go under their projections makes sense, as long as you’re correct in forecasting which teams will be at the bottom of the standings.
No team this season has an over/under mark below 22.5 wins, and a team that finishes 23-49 would have a .319 winning percentage. A year ago, the league’s bottom six clubs all had percentages lower than that.
What do you think of our picks in general? Are there any results above that you strongly disagree with? Did you make any over or under votes within the last week or two that you’re second-guessing now? Jump into our comment section below and weigh in with your thoughts!
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacers Exercise 2021/22 Options On Holiday, Bitadze
The Pacers have picked up a pair of rookie scale contract options for the 2021/22 season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve exercised Aaron Holiday‘s fourth-year option and Goga Bitadze‘s third-year option.
[RELATED: Decisions On 2021/22 Rookie Scale Team Options]
Holiday, 24, saw an increased role in Indiana’s backcourt last season, averaging 9.5 PPG and 3.4 APG to go along with a .414/.394/.851 shooting line in 66 games (24.5 MPG).
After earning $2.35MM this season, Holiday will make $3.98MM in 2021/22 as a result of his newly-exercised option. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2021. If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d be on track for restricted free agency in ’22.
Bitadze, the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft, appeared in 54 games as a rookie for the Pacers, averaging 3.2 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 8.7 minutes per contest. After dealing with visa issues and knee problems during his first year as a Pacer, the big man is currently battling an ankle sprain and will miss the start of the season.
Bitadze’s 2021/22 option – which is now fully guaranteed – is worth $3.1MM. The Pacers will have to decide next year whether to pick up his $5.79MM option for ’22/23.
And-Ones: Hall Of Fame Nominees, G League, Extensions, More
Longtime Celtics forward Paul Pierce and former NBA player and head coach Doug Collins are among those eligible for the first time to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, writes ESPN’s Royce Young.
Pierce and Collins are joined as this year’s first-time nominees by former Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Lauren Jackson, along with Howard Garfinkel, Lou Henson, Val Ackerman, and Yolanda Griffith. Those new nominees will be added to a list of returning candidates that includes Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, and Becky Hammon, among others.
While the 2020 Hall of Fame class – headlined by Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett – won’t be enshrined until May due to coronavirus-related delays, the 2021 class is scheduled to be unveiled in early April, with a September induction ceremony to follow.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link) hears from a source that the NBA G League may be targeting February 8 for the start of its shortened season. Training camps would begin at a bubble site – possibly in Atlanta – on January 29 in that scenario, Bondy adds.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) examines what’s next for the players who didn’t sign rookie scale extensions on Monday and takes a look at some players who will still be candidates for veteran extensions during the season, including new Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Rockets forward P.J. Tucker.
- The NBA’s decision to rescind the Bucks‘ 2022 second-round pick after finding evidence that they jumped the gun on negotiations with Bogdan Bogdanovic last month is a relative slap on the wrist, but still represents a noticeable step up over past penalties for tampering, Jared Weiss writes for The Athletic. The league made it a priority starting in 2019 to crack down on such violations.
- Basketball junkies will enjoy the 2020/21 version of Niku Mistry’s annual NBA Almanac, a 300-page guide that recaps last season’s results – along with each offseason transaction – and includes team-by-team breakdowns for the coming year.
Nuggets Won’t Trade Murray In Potential Harden Deal
The Nuggets have reportedly spoken to the Rockets about the possibility of a James Harden trade, but Denver would be unwilling to include Jamal Murray in any offer for the former MVP, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
As Singer explains, Murray’s impressive postseason run during the Orlando restart over the summer underscored why the Nuggets gave him a maximum-salary extension a year ago. It also demonstrated why Denver views the 23-year-old as a long-term franchise cornerstone alongside Nikola Jokic, who – of course – also wouldn’t be available in any Harden discussions.
With Jokic and Murray off the table, the most obvious centerpiece in a potential Nuggets offer would be Michael Porter Jr. The 22-year-old forward averaged 9.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 55 games (16.4 MPG) during his de facto rookie season in 2019/20.
While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Porter’s upside is considerable and he’s viewed as a potential offensive star. Still, it’s not clear how enthusiastic the Rockets would be about a deal built around him — or how many other assets the Nuggets would be willing to include in such an offer. Houston has reportedly been seeking a return that features an All-Star-caliber young player, along with several other assets (young players or draft picks).
[RELATED: Tension Between Harden, Rockets Teammates?]
Denver hasn’t been mentioned as one of Harden’s preferred landing spots, but a report last week indicated that the Rockets had expanded trade talks beyond those teams on his wish list. Presumably, the Nuggets were one of those teams, though it’s unclear if the two sides remain in touch or have engaged in anything beyond exploratory discussions.