Warriors Work Out Deni Avdija
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and other members of the organization traveled to Atlanta to work out Israeli draft prospect Deni Avdija on Thursday morning, sources tell Ethan Strauss of The Athletic.
According to Strauss, Avdija performed well in the workouts and Warriors officials were “blown away” after meeting with him. The club was impressed with the 19-year-old’s work ethic, Strauss adds.
[RELATED: Omri Casspi thinks Avdija would be good fit for Warriors]
For the past few months, NBA teams haven’t been permitted to work out prospects as part of this year’s pre-draft process, but the league recently loosened restrictions on those in-person meetings. Clubs are now allowed to conduct 10 in-person workouts with draft-eligible players by November 16.
Not every team has been enthusiastic about taking advantage of the opportunity to meet with prospects in person, as we detailed last weekend. However, the expectation has been that teams with high lottery picks will be active in lining up meetings with top prospects, so it makes sense that the Warriors – who own the No. 2 selection – would be one of the clubs to take advantage.
As Strauss notes, the Warriors’ workout with Avdija doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is zeroing in on the former Maccabi Tel Aviv star. However, the fact that members of the organization were willing to travel to Atlanta to get a closer look at the young forward is at least a signal that Golden State hasn’t committed to the idea of trading out of the No. 2 spot in a win-now deal.
Northwest Notes: Gallinari, Nuggets, Timberwolves
As he prepares to enter free agency this offseason, Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he believes the idea that he’s injury prone is unfair and that he hopes to have dispelled that notion by not missing any significant time during the last two seasons.
“I’ve had small injuries that everyone has. I only had two big injuries, which was the back my first year and the ACL back in 2013 when I was in Denver,” Gallinari said. “I honestly don’t understand why I have this injury-prone stigma on my shoulders, but it’s just not true. It’s not facts. The facts are different. I’m very healthy, and I’ve been playing seasons with no problems playing almost every game. Most of the games I didn’t play is because it was a team decision to rest and not being injured.”
Asked specifically about his free agency, Gallinari said he’d “love to run it back” and return to Oklahoma City in 2020/21, but he sounds open to exploring other options as well. The 32-year-old previously suggested he may prioritize an opportunity to win a title over securing the most lucrative possible contract, but he told Scotto that he’s not necessarily seeking out just one specific kind of situation.
“The part I love is that I have the chance to look at everything,” Gallinari said. “Honestly, I don’t have one direction or one thing that I’m looking at. In your career, you can’t be a free agent every year. When it happens, for me, it’s this summer, I want to take my time and look at everything.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- After being known as the Pepsi Center for over two decades, the Nuggets‘ home arena is getting a new name. As Mike Singer of The Denver Post details, the team’s building will now be known as the Ball Arena as a result of a partnership between Ball Corporation and Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.
- Likening Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer suggests the Timberwolves are in position to follow the roster-building blueprint established by the Nuggets. However, Tjarks acknowledges that the Wolves need to start adding more two-way players and would benefit tremendously from finding their own version of Paul Millsap.
- The Timberwolves‘ dilemma with the No. 1 pick is exacerbated by the fact that most of this year’s top prospects aren’t elite shooters or defenders, which are the two kinds of players Minnesota would most like to add. Passing along comments from president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune examines how the Wolves will assess which prospects are capable of improving their outside shooting.
NBA Confirms 2020 Draft Will Be Conducted Virtually
As expected, the 2020 NBA draft will be conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic that upended the ’19/20 season and continues to prevent large-scale gatherings. The NBA and ESPN issued a joint press release today confirming that this year’s draft broadcast will air on Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00 pm eastern time.
The plan is for NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum to appear live at ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Connecticut, where they’ll reveal this year’s draft picks. As usual, Silver will announce the first-round selections, while Tatum will handle the second round.
Although there won’t be a traditional “green room” for top prospects, a number of draftees will appear virtually, according to today’s announcement
The NBA also conducted its August draft lottery virtually, while other leagues – including the WNBA and NFL – have completed virtual drafts already this year. So while this format is unusual for the NBA, it’s not entirely without precedent.
Pelicans Hire Stan Van Gundy As Head Coach
OCTOBER 22: The Pelicans have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve hired Van Gundy as their new head coach.
“This opportunity was one that I was really attracted to due in large part to David Griffin’s record of putting together highly competitive, talented teams in a great family atmosphere,” Van Gundy said in a statement. “When I got into the interview process and had a chance to meet with Mrs. (Gayle) Benson, Dennis Lauscha, Griff, Trajan Langdon, Swin Cash and the Pelicans front office, it became clear how committed and invested they are to winning.
[RELATED: Stan Van Gundy: “Deep Down, I’m Always A Coach”]
“Stan’s track record of success as a head coach speaks for itself,” Griffin said in a statement of his own. “His ability to teach while building genuine relationships was one of his many strengths that drew us to him. We feel like we are hiring one of the most accomplished leaders and authentic human beings in the NBA.”
OCTOBER 21: Former NBA coach and current TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy has agreed to a deal that will make him the new head coach of the Pelicans, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Van Gundy will sign a four-year contract with New Orleans, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“I’m excited to join a talented New Orleans Pelicans team,” Van Gundy wrote on Twitter. “It will be an honor to work with our players and to work for Mrs. (Gayle) Benson and David Griffin, Trajan Langdon, their staff and the great people of New Orleans. I can’t wait to talk to our players and get the process started.”
Van Gundy previously served as the head coach for the Heat, Magic, and Pistons, enjoying his most successful run in Orlando, where he led the Magic to a 259-135 (.657) record over five seasons and made the NBA Finals in 2009.
Van Gundy, who also had a winning record (112-73) in Miami, had a shakier experience in Detroit from 2014-18, compiling a 152-176 (.463) mark. However, he held a dual role with the Pistons, working as the team’s president of basketball operations in addition to his head coaching duties. With David Griffin in place as the head of basketball operations in New Orleans, Van Gundy will be free to focus solely on coaching in his new position.
As the Pelicans’ new head coach, Van Gundy will be tasked with developing a young core led by Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. Assuming New Orleans doesn’t shake up its roster too drastically this fall, Van Gundy should also have veterans like Jrue Holiday and J.J. Redick in his lineup as he looks to lead the team back to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
The Pelicans, who dismissed Alvin Gentry following a disappointing showing at Walt Disney World in Orlando this summer, interviewed a total of nine candidates for their head coaching vacancy after gathering intel on several other candidates, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic.
A report last week indicated that the Pelicans were narrowing their search to four finalists, including Van Gundy and Tyronn Lue, who was later promoted by the Clippers. The other finalists weren’t identified, but SVG clearly stood out during the process, impressing Griffin, per Scott Kushner of The Times Picayune (Twitter link).
According to Guillory and Wojnarowski, Van Gundy’s winning track record and his ability to teach a young roster helped sell the Pelicans on hiring him. His personnel decisions in Detroit weren’t a factor the Pelicans considered, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that SVG’s history of building top defensive teams was a factor in New Orleans’ decision as well. Van Gundy’s teams ranked in the top half of the league in all but one of his 11 full seasons as a head coach, per ESPN.
With Van Gundy headed to New Orleans, only two of the nine NBA teams that have parted ways with a head coach this year have yet to make a hire — the Thunder and the Rockets. Stan’s brother Jeff Van Gundy is reportedly one of the leading candidates for the Houston job.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Sabonis, Valanciunas, N. Robinson, Offseason
Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis and Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas are expected to join the Lithuanian National Team for the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers next month, according to Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link). Lithuania is scheduled to play qualifying games in Vilnius against Denmark on November 26 and Belgium on November 29, and the country’s basketball federation has confirmed that Sabonis and Valanciunas are part of the team’s preliminary squad.
Unfortunately for Lithuania, it’s not clear yet whether Sabonis and Valanciunas will be available next summer for the all-important Olympic qualifying tournament that begins on June 29. Lithuania will be vying for one of four final spots in the Tokyo Olympics, and typically NBA players would be free to join their national teams by that point. In 2021, however, it’s possible the NBA’s regular season won’t yet have finished by the end of June.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran guard Nate Robinson hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2015/16 season and his odds of making a comeback at this point are incredibly long. However, he hasn’t given up on the idea, as Eric Woodyard of ESPN relays (via Twitter). “Even at 36, I could still play and still ball out, still be a good spark off the bench,” Robinson said. “But times have changed, the NBA has changed so much. Naw, I will never say I’m retired. They retired me. I didn’t retire.”
- Several ESPN reporters and analysts discussed a series of NBA offseason issues, including the most intriguing player on the free agent market, the trade candidate most worth watching, and the team worth keeping an eye on. Fred VanVleet, Jrue Holiday, and the Warriors, respectively, received the most votes in those three categories.
- In the second part of their survey of NBA agents, Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic solicited opinions on the league’s best player, how many games the NBA will be able to play in 2020/21, and when the season will start, among other topics. We recapped the first part of the agent survey on Wednesday.
- Several beat writers from The Athletic conducted a new mock draft for the top 10 picks this week. The exercise saw LaMelo Ball go No. 1 to the Timberwolves and included a trade involving the Knicks‘ No. 8 pick and the Suns‘ No. 10 selection, with Phoenix trading up for Tyrese Haliburton.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Sixers, Barrett, Temple
The Raptors are among the teams trying to make the most of what has been an unusual and unprecedented pre-draft process, as assistant general manager Dan Tolzman explained to reporters on Wednesday. Tolzman estimated that there are about 50 players Toronto likes in this draft, adding that he believes the club can land a rotation-caliber player at No. 29 and potentially at No. 59 too.
“Usually there’s a lot of risers and fallers based on the draft combine, individual workouts, 3-on-3 workouts, all that kind of stuff, that isn’t happening,” Tolzman said, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “I’d say the best way to describe it is very balanced. There’s going to be a lot of rotation-level players that come out of this draft, kind of all across the board.”
Tolzman also suggested that the lack of pre-draft workouts and other activities for prospects this year may result in some rising players being overlooked until after the draft.
“I think probably more than usual, the undrafted market is going to be huge because normally, players that maybe early on were expected to go undrafted, they worked their way into the draft picture, and those workouts and those opportunities for them to do so just didn’t happen this year,” Tolzman said. “… You’re going to see guys come out of nowhere and be contributors next year.”
A strong undrafted free agent market may benefit the Raptors, who have done very well in that area in recent years, most notably with their signing of Fred VanVleet in 2016. Toronto’s top 2019 UDFA signing, Terence Davis, earned a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team this year.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers is interested in adding former Bulls assistant Roy Rogers to his staff, a league source tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Rogers spent the 2019/20 season on Jim Boylen‘s staff in Chicago, but isn’t returning to the Bulls following the hiring of Billy Donovan.
- Multiple people in touch with Knicks decision-makers tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv that they expect New York to take a player’s fit with RJ Barrett into account when considering potential roster moves this offseason.
- Reacting to a pair of recent tidbits from John Hollinger of The Athletic, Net Income of NetsDaily considers whether the emergence of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot might dissuade the Nets from picking up Garrett Temple‘s $5MM team option for the 2020/21 campaign. Temple was a regular part of Brooklyn’s rotation last season, but struggled with his shot (.378/.329/.805) and may be expendable for tax reasons.
Pacers Notes: Bjorkgren, Sabonis, Turner, Oladipo
Speaking to reporters during his introductory press conference on Wednesday, new Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren said he thinks Indiana will be a “fun team to watch” next season, promising a more dynamic offense and a willingness to be adaptable, as Michael Marot of The Associated Press writes.
“You’re going to see a lot of movement on both sides of the ball, different guys handling the ball, pushing it up the floor,” Bjorkgren said. “We want to utilize the three-point line. My approach to defense is you change and change quite frequently, between quarters, after timeouts, during an 8-0 run, I think that’s the disruptive part.”
Bjorkgren has never been a head coach at the NBA level, but he did serve as the head coach for three separate G League clubs between 2011-15. On Wednesday, he said that he feels as if that experience helped prepare him to be flexible and make adjustments as an NBA coach.
“You have to adapt very early and quite often,” Bjorkgren said, per Marot. “You could be at a shootaround and two guys get called up and another is going overseas so you have to coach on the fly. You have to know the next guy will be there and that’s the part of the coaching, keeping everybody ready at all times.”
Here’s more on the Pacers and their new head coach:
- President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers conducted formal interviews via Zoom with approximately a dozen candidates and then brought in six finalists for in-person interviews, writes Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. By the end of the lengthy process, Pritchard was certain that Bjorkgren was the man for the job. “We felt like this was a no-brainer,” Pritchard said. “When we came to a decision, there were high-fives in our office and we knew that this was the right guy.”
- Bjorkgren said on Wednesday that he’s “very confident” that Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner can continue to coexist in the Pacers’ lineup, likening the duo to Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka on his old team in Toronto. “When you talk about those two bigs, they’re not just any two bigs,” Bjorkgren said of Indiana’s duo, per Hotchkiss. “They are very dynamic and they complement each other very well.”
- Asked during Wednesday’s presser about Victor Oladipo, neither Pritchard nor Bjorkgren gave any indication that they expect the All-Star guard to be traded this offseason. “He feels good about the team. He’s talked to me about how he thinks this team can be very good,” Pritchard said, according to Marot. “We hear a lot of things, but until it comes to me, I don’t really worry about that.”
- Bjorkgren added that Oladipo texted him “immediately” after news of his hiring broke. “We had a great talk,” Bjorkgren said. “We talked about what I thought he could do, what I thought he could bring to this team, how he could make this team better, and how he could make himself better… I like his energy. I feel like our energy fed off each other a little bit there during the phone call.”
Goodwill’s Latest: ’20/21 Schedule, Holiday, Nuggets, Raptors
The NBA is eyeing Martin Luther King Day (January 18) as a potential start date for the 2020/21 regular season, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. According to Goodwill, the league still isn’t ruling out the possibility of a Christmas Day start, but recognizes that MLK Day may be a more realistic target, especially if it wants to have any chance of getting fans back in arenas for opening night.
There’s no guarantee that the season will start by January 18, but the NBA would like to get back to its typical October-to-June calendar for the 2021/22 season if possible, says Goodwill. The league will give teams and players eight weeks of notice before the start of next season.
Here’s more from Goodwill:
- It remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will seriously consider trading Jrue Holiday this offseason, but many teams think trimming salary will be a priority for New Orleans, per Goodwill, and if Holiday’s available, he’s expected to be a popular target. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that about 10 teams have inquired on the veteran guard, with the Nuggets expected to be his most aggressive suitors.
- One issue the NBA will have to resolve for the 2020/21 season is where the Raptors will play if teams return to their respective home arenas. Assuming there are still restrictions in place on travel between the U.S. and Canada by the time the NBA season begins, the team could end up sharing another NBA market or even playing in Louisville, says Goodwill. The city of Louisville has an NBA-ready arena, and businessman and former NBA player Junior Bridgeman has been in contact with the league about the possibility, Goodwill adds.
- The Raptors’ situation is one of a handful of items to be discussed on a Board of Governors call this Friday, along with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and competitive formats for next season, Goodwill writes.
2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Toronto Raptors
Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Toronto Raptors.
Salary Cap Outlook
Toronto has about $85MM committed to eight players and a first-round pick so far for the 2020/21 season, assuming Stanley Johnson opts in and the team retains Matt Thomas and Terence Davis. That theoretically puts the Raptors in position to create cap room, but re-signing one or more of their own veteran free agents – including Fred VanVleet and/or Serge Ibaka – will likely eliminate that room.
We’re assuming Toronto will operate as an over-the-cap club. Depending on what happens with VanVleet, Ibaka, and Marc Gasol, the team will likely have the full mid-level exception ($9.26MM) available. If re-signing those veterans gets pricey, the Raptors may instead have to work with the taxpayer MLE ($5.72MM). Either way, the team won’t have its bi-annual exception, having used it last season.
Our full salary cap preview for the Raptors can be found right here.
Roster Decisions To Watch
Options:
- Stanley Johnson, player option: $3,804,150
Non-Guaranteed Contracts:
- Matt Thomas ($1,517,981)
- Note: Partially guaranteed for $725K.
- Terence Davis ($1,517,981)
- Dewan Hernandez ($1,517,981)
Two-Way Contracts:
- Oshae Brissett (expiring)
- Paul Watson (expires in 2021)
Free Agents:
- Fred VanVleet (Bird)
- Serge Ibaka (Bird)
- Marc Gasol (Bird)
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Non-Bird)
- Malcolm Miller (RFA; Bird)
- Chris Boucher (RFA; Early Bird)
2020 Draft Assets
First Round:
- No. 29 overall pick
Second Round:
- No. 59 overall pick
The Raptors, who finished the 2019/20 season with the NBA’s second-best record, didn’t trade away either of their draft picks and didn’t acquire any extra selections for this year.
Three Key Offseason Questions
1. Will the Raptors re-sign Fred VanVleet?
The Raptors haven’t been shy about signing their own players to lucrative new contracts and extension in recent years. Kyle Lowry has signed a pair of new deals since 2017, both of which paid him more than $30MM annually; Serge Ibaka got a long-term deal worth nearly $22MM per year in 2017; and Pascal Siakam received a maximum-salary extension last fall.
That pattern suggests that the team should have no qualms about locking up VanVleet to a new contract this offseason that fairly reflects his market value. But even if the Raptors feel that way – and I think they do – their long-term salary cap outlook complicates matters.
Toronto has long had its eye on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who can become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and is close with Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri. For the time being, Siakam’s $31MM cap hit is the only guaranteed money on the Raps’ books for 2021/22, and even though the team will also have to account for Norman Powell‘s player option, cap holds for OG Anunoby and Terence Davis, and some other small charges, that leaves plenty of room for a maximum-salary player.
However, if VanVleet signs a pricey new multiyear deal, his ’21/22 cap charge would cut into that remaining cap space in a major way.
We have no clear sense yet of where the NBA’s salary cap will land for ’21/22, and Powell’s extension and Anunoby’s next contract are wild cards that could affect how much flexibility the Raptors actually have a year from now. But as long as Ujiri and the Raps still have an outside shot at Antetokounmpo, the sense is that the franchise will want to maximize its cap room for 2021 as much as possible — and that will affect how much the club is willing to offer VanVleet this fall.
Now, that doesn’t mean that the Raptors will only be willing to offer a one-year contract to VanVleet. The expectation is that Toronto will still be able to make a competitive offer in the four-year, $80MM range for the starting guard. Structuring the deal so that it declines in value in year two before increasing again for the remaining years would create a small amount of added flexibility for the Raptors in 2021 as well.
Still, with Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram considered virtual locks to return to their respective clubs, VanVleet may end up being the top free agent on the market this offseason. Rebuilding teams with plenty of cap room – such as the Pistons, Hawks, and Knicks – will be in position to top a four-year, $80MM offer if they so choose.
If one of those teams is willing to offer $10-15MM more than Toronto does, would that difference be enough to convince VanVleet to jump ship for a lottery club? What if one of those clubs goes even higher?
Would the Raptors be willing to increase their own offer and sacrifice potential a max-salary slot for 2021, figuring that if Antetokounmpo or another top free agent really wants to come to Toronto, they’ll be able to figure out a way to make it happen? And would the Raptors change their approach on VanVleet at all if Giannis re-ups with Milwaukee this offseason?
At this point, I think it’s probably more likely than not that the Raptors will be able to retain VanVleet rather than losing him for nothing, but the situation definitely isn’t cut-and-dried, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.
2. Will the Raptors re-sign Marc Gasol and/or Serge Ibaka?
While VanVleet is the Raptors’ top priority in free agency, two of the team’s other top seven players are eligible for new deals this fall as well — Gasol and Ibaka.
It’s possible that Gasol – who will turn 36 this winter – will decide to return home to Spain, joining his old team in Barcelona. So far though, there has been no confirmation that that’s his plan, as rumors suggesting a potential reunion between the veteran center and the Spanish club were quickly shot down. So an NBA deal remains in play for Gasol.
As for Ibaka, there’s no doubt he’ll be continuing his career in the NBA. The 31-year-old is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, having averaged 15.4 PPG and 8.2 RPG on .512/.385/.718 shooting in 55 games (27.0 MPG). His ability to stretch the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense should make him one of the more intriguing big men on the market this offseason.
If the Raptors bring back VanVleet, re-signing both Gasol and Ibaka may be a long shot. Unless at least one of the two accepts a team-friendly deal, Toronto would be at risk of going into tax territory by re-signing all of its key free agents. And given the way the NBA is trending, it doesn’t make sense for the team to invest big money in a pair of aging centers.
Re-signing one of the two seems realistic though, and I’d expect the Raptors to prioritize Ibaka. While Gasol’s box-score numbers undersell his value as a defender, passer, or screen-setter, he had clearly lost a step or two by the end of the 2019/20 season, and expecting a bounce-back year in his 13th NBA season is probably ill-advised.
The Raptors’ plan for Ibaka will likely be similar to what they did for Lowry — offer him a lucrative one-year contract that expires in 2021, allowing the club to retain flexibility for that offseason. Toronto should be able to afford to pay Ibaka a salary close to what he made last year ($23MM) without getting too close to the tax threshold. I wouldn’t expect any other teams to go anywhere near that figure, given the lack of leaguewide cap room.
If Ibaka does get a competitive multiyear offer from another team, the Raptors could shift their focus to a one-year deal for Gasol and perhaps use their mid-level exception to add more frontcourt depth.
3. Will the Raptors extend Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster soon?
The Raptors have one notable extension-eligible player this offseason, but a deal for that player (Anunoby) may not be a top priority. Although Toronto would certainly like to keep Anunoby in the picture for years to come, an early extension would eat into their 2021 cap space, and the team will have an opportunity to lock up the young forward as a restricted free agent next year.
For the time being then, the Raptors’ most important extension candidates are in their front office. Toronto’s president of basketball operations (Ujiri) and general manager (Webster) are entering the final year of their respective contracts, and signing them to new ones has to be a top priority for the organization.
The Raptors already completed a new deal with head coach Nick Nurse this fall, and a report around that time suggested there were rumblings this summer that extensions for Ujiri and Webster were likely to follow. Over a month later though, there’s still no update on either front.
There’s no reason for Raptors fans to panic yet. Interest in Ujiri and Webster from rival franchises has frequently been rebuffed, and Larry Tanenbaum – the chairman of the team’s ownership group – has vowed to get something done.
Still, fans in Toronto will be able to breathe a little easier if and when word of new deals for the team’s top decision-makers breaks. Ujiri and Webster have led a front office that has become one of the NBA’s best at identifying under-the-radar talent, and they’ve helped turn the Raptors into one of the league’s more respected franchises.
Five or 10 years ago, the idea of a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber giving any consideration to making the move to Toronto would have been laughable. It’s still probably a long shot, but it can no longer be dismissed out of hand — Ujiri and his group have made the Raptors a team that players around the league have to take seriously.
That progress wouldn’t necessarily be undone if Ujiri and/or Webster leaves next year, but keeping the duo around would be the best way for the Raptors to continue building on that progress.
Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA Agents Talk Offseason, Finances, Execs, More
NBA agents are generally in agreement that the 2020 offseason will be an unusual one due to the coronavirus pandemic and its ripple effect, but they don’t all agree on what exactly the offseason will look like.
Ben Standig, Mike Vorkunov, and other writers from The Athletic conducted a survey of 20 player agents to get their thoughts on the coming offseason and state of the NBA. And while some of those agents believe financial concerns will limit player movement this fall, others believe there will still be plenty of movement — even if it doesn’t happen in free agency.
“My fear is there will be a lot of teams and ownership groups that sit out free agency,” one agent said. “… In terms of player movement, I think there will be a lot. Not just signing guys. Nobody wants to pay the tax. Everybody is going to try to clear space for 2021. I can definitely see a sizeable amount of player movement. But not a lot of dollars spent.”
One agent who spoke to The Athletic suggested that some teams will be in cost-cutting mode and, for financial reasons, may move players they wouldn’t have traded in a normal year. However, another agent believes there will still be plenty of clubs willing to spend to compete for the postseason and for a title.
“Teams want to win and they’re going to spend to win,” the agent said. “Ultimately, as we saw with Denver, there’s a lot of teams within striking distance of contention and they’re not going to be cheap. The Clippers fired a coach with two years on his deal. We’re going to be fine.”
As for how many NBA franchises will be in legitimate financial peril during the coming year, one agent is skeptical that any will actually be in trouble.
“They’re going to blow so much smoke up our a– about how bad the business model is and everything like that, but Minnesota is going to sell for $1.5 billion and it’s the worst market, as far as basketball,” the agent said. “They sold 18 years ago for $88MM and they’re going to sell for $1.5 billion? You can’t tell (me) you have a bad business.
“There’s going be revenues that are greatly reduced, but I would say to any of these teams that feel like these businesses that they can’t pour cash into to carry it through this rough spot, they should sell. Because they have opportunities. We’ll find them a buyer in a month.”
Here are a few of the other most interesting takeaways from The Athletic’s agent survey:
- Thunder point guard Chris Paul is the highest-profile player that most agents expected to be traded this offseason, while the Sixers are considered the team most in need of a major roster move. “Philly is at the point where it’s a make or break year for just about everybody,” one agent said.
- Of the 19 agents who weighed in on the subject, 18 said they expect Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to remain in Milwaukee beyond his current contract.
- LaMelo Ball comfortably received the most votes as 2020’s most intriguing draft prospect, but he’s viewed as a somewhat risky investment. “I think he has such a high ceiling but the difference from his top to bottom is the biggest of anyone in the draft,” one agent said. Another offered the following assessment: “That could go really good or really bad.”
- One agent said he has “never heard less enthusiasm” from teams that have high picks in this year’s draft.
- One agent speculated that centers will be hit hardest by teams’ financial limitations this offseason, since clubs are focusing on players who can defend several positions. Another said that he thinks many clubs may prioritize veterans over young prospects, since cost-conscious teams may not want to use back-of-the-roster spots on guys who won’t play at all.
- Thunder GM Sam Presti easily received the most votes as the NBA’s “smartest” team executive, but Pat Riley of the Heat and Masai Ujiri of the Raptors got more votes when agents were asked which exec they’d want to hire if they were running a franchise.