Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic Out For Game 2
4:58pm: Dragic has also been ruled out for Friday’s Game 2, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
3:21pm: Heat center Bam Adebayo will miss Game 2 of the NBA Finals vs. the Lakers, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Adebayo had previously been listed as doubtful for Friday’s game due to a neck strain.
According to Wojnarowski, there’s still hope that Adebayo will be able to return to Miami’s lineup on Sunday for Game 3. The All-Star big man was originally diagnosed with a shoulder strain following the Heat’s Game 1 loss, but a subsequent MRI revealed the neck injury as well.
Without Adebayo in tonight’s lineup, the Heat figure to lean more heavily on Kelly Olynyk and possibly Meyers Leonard in their frontcourt.
While there’s no official word yet on Heat starting point guard Goran Dragic, he’s dealing with a torn left plantar fascia and was listed as doubtful for Game 2 too, so it would be a surprise if he’s cleared to play tonight. He’s also hoping to return at some point this series, though that sort of plantar fascia tear often sidelines players for weeks.
Lue To Meet With Clippers On Saturday, Rockets On Sunday
It will be a busy weekend for coaching candidate Tyronn Lue, who has three meetings lined up in a three-day span with teams seeking new head coaches. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Lue is scheduled to talk to the Pelicans on Friday, Clippers on Saturday, and Rockets on Sunday.
A report earlier this week from The Philadelphia Inquirer indicated that – after interviewing with the Sixers on Tuesday – Lue was set to talk to New Orleans on Friday and Houston next week. Multiple reports have since confirmed that he’s a prime candidate to be promoted in Los Angeles. However, Haynes’ report is the first time we’ve learned specific dates for Lue’s initial meetings with the Clippers and Rockets.
While this series of interviews is a reminder that Lue is drawing real interest from multiple teams, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be the first choice for one or more of those clubs. And it’s unclear which team would be his first choice if he receives more than one offer.
Having spent the 2019/20 season as an assistant under Doc Rivers, Lue is most familiar with the Clippers and is believed to be an early frontrunner for that position. But he’s certainly not a shoo-in for the job, as L.A. is expected to conduct a full-fledged search.
Lue’s connection with Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin – the duo worked together in Cleveland – could help give him a leg up for that job. However, New Orleans is reportedly expected to bring in at least two or three finalists before making a decision.
Nuggets Notes: Barton, Offseason, Roster, Harris
Nuggets swingman Will Barton missed the entire summer restart due to a nagging – and somewhat mysterious – right knee injury, leaving the Orlando bubble in mid-August to continue his rehab away from the team. However, Denver’s president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and GM Calvin Booth denied today that there’s any sort of rift between Barton and the club.
“No, not at all,” Booth said, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post. “I think he left the bubble to get the best care he possibly could for his injury. He wasn’t anywhere close to playing at the time he left the bubble. We all thought it was the right decision.”
Both Connelly and Booth stressed Barton’s importance to the Nuggets, with Connelly referring to the 29-year-old as “part of our core,” while Booth suggested he might’ve been the team’s third-best player during the regular season. Booth said the Nuggets don’t have long-term concerns about Barton’s knee, which they think should be fine by next year.
“It’s a shame that he got banged up during the hiatus,” Connelly added. “I think he’s as motivated as ever. We talk all the time, and we fully expect to see the best version of Will that they’ve seen, thus far, next season.”
Here’s more out of Denver:
- According to Connelly, the league-wide perception of the Nuggets has changed in recent years. He explained that four or five years ago, agents wouldn’t necessarily want their players traded to Denver, but now it’s become “a team that you want to be around” (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN).
- Both Connelly and Booth told reporters today that they’d like to bring back as many players from this year’s team as possible, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee, and Torrey Craig are among the players expected to reach the free agent market.
- Asked about the possibility of adding another piece to their roster this offseason, Connelly said today that the Nuggets are always trying to be aggressive (Twitter link via Singer).
- Gary Harris wasn’t at his best this summer after returning from a hip injury, shooting just 25.9% from the field in the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. However, head coach Michael Malone praised Harris’ postseason defense and said that his confidence in the veteran guard hasn’t wavered, Singer writes for The Denver Post. “We don’t get to the Western Conference Finals without him,” Malone said. “That’s just the truth.”
Poll: Best NBA Head Coaching Hire So Far
Despite some speculation earlier this year that financial constraints imposed by the coronavirus pandemic would discourage NBA teams from making head coaching changes, that hasn’t been the case at all over the last few months. A total of nine clubs – nearly a third of the league – have parted ways with coaches so far, and four of those clubs have since hired replacements.
[RELATED: 2020 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Those four head coaching hires are as follows:
- New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau (replacing Mike Miller)
- Brooklyn Nets: Steve Nash (replacing Jacque Vaughn)
- Chicago Bulls: Billy Donovan (replacing Jim Boylen)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Doc Rivers (replacing Brett Brown)
Thibodeau’s Bulls squads made the playoffs every year and the Timberwolves went into win-now mode when he arrived, so he didn’t necessarily seem like an obvious fit for the rebuilding Knicks. But his demanding coaching style could help get the most of New York’s young players as the team looks to return to the postseason, and he certainly won’t be intimidated by a large market.
As for the Nets, the expectation was that they’d bring in a veteran coach with a championship résumé to lead a team with title aspirations. Instead, their choice is a first-time head coach only a few years removed from retiring as a player. Nash has a preexisting relationship with Durant and his impressive accomplishments as a player should help earn him the respect of the Nets’ other veterans, but there may be a learning curve as the former two-time MVP adjusts to his first coaching job.
Donovan parted ways with the Thunder in large part because he wasn’t enthused by the idea of a rebuilding or retooling period, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him join a Bulls team coming off consecutive 22-win seasons. But it’s not as if he doesn’t have experience developing young players, having spent two decades coaching the Florida Gators. And if the Bulls take forward strides in the next year or two, Donovan’s playoff coaching experience should come in handy before long.
Finally, the Sixers hired Rivers on Thursday, pivoting to the former Clippers coach after having previously narrowed their field to Mike D’Antoni and Tyronn Lue. For a team trying to get over the hump in the playoffs, Rivers is an interesting choice — he wasn’t able to get over that hump in Los Angeles over the last seven years. And for Rivers, joining another team that features a superstar duo and some chemistry issues is a risk.
Still, despite some disappointing postseason losses, Rivers has consistently led his teams to winning records for more than a decade and he should command the respect of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
What do you think? Which of these four coaching hires do you like the best for these teams, given their respective situations, their goals, and the other options that were available to them?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Which team made the best coaching hire?
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Chicago Bulls (Billy Donovan) 47% (1,092)
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Philadelphia 76ers (Doc Rivers) 26% (612)
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New York Knicks (Tom Thibodeau) 16% (367)
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Brooklyn Nets (Steve Nash) 10% (242)
Total votes: 2,313
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
And-Ones: Carter, Roberts, Hervey, Heat
Longtime NBA forward Vince Carter has already transitioned into a new broadcasting role after calling it a career earlier in 2020, but he received one more honor as a player from the NBA this week. The league announced on Thursday that NBA players voted Carter as the recipient of the NBA Sportsmanship Award for the 2019/20 season.
The aim of the award is to honor the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” the league noted in its press release. Six players – one per division – were nominated as finalists, with Carter beating out Harrison Barnes, Steven Adams, Langston Galloway, Tyus Jones, and Garrett Temple for the honor in his final season.
Carter earned 143 of 266 possible first-place votes and finished with 2,520 total voting points. Temple was the runner-up, with 22 first-place votes and 1,746 total points.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- In a conversation with Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said she won’t leave the players’ union until “we’ve returned to some semblance of stability,” but the plan is still for that to happen in 2022, when her current contract ends. “This PA has to have a succession plan,” Roberts said. “Every company does, we need to have one and we need to get about the business of getting somebody in place. … We’re going to get somebody in place and it’s going to be someone fantastic.”
- Former Thunder two-way player Kevin Hervey spoke to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman about leaving the NBA and G League to play for Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. “I see it as such an opportunity to grow not only as a basketball player, but as an individual,” Hervey said. “To go experience a different culture, to go see a different side of the world.”
- Teams around the NBA – especially in smaller markets – should be rooting for the Heat over the Lakers in the NBA Finals, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who contends that a Miami win would be a point in favor of patiently building a roster from the ground up, rather than hoping two superstars will choose to join you.
Sixers Notes: Harris, Rivers, Young, Simmons, Embiid
There’s hope in Philadelphia that a reunion with Doc Rivers can help Tobias Harris maximize his production going forward, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski writes, the best stint of Harris’ career came during his two half-seasons with the Clippers, where he averaged 20.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG on .487/.426/.856 shooting in 87 games.
While consistent strong play from Harris would benefit for the 76ers, his connection to Rivers hopefully wasn’t a major reason why the club hired the former Clippers coach, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Harris’ success in Los Angeles was mostly a result of making a few more shots and was likely the result of a career year rather than anything sustainable, Bodner continues.
Here’s more on the 76ers:
- Within his story on Rivers’ hiring, Wojnarowski reports that Sixers assistant Kevin Young was among those who interviewed for the club’s head coaching role. While it doesn’t appear he was ever a serious candidate for the job, Young made a “strong impression” on the franchise, sources tell ESPN.
- Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN explores the challenge Rivers will face in Philadelphia to get the most out of the Joel Embiid/Ben Simmons duo, pointing out that the new head coach will also be tasked with filling a leadership vacuum that existed during the Sixers’ 2019/20 season.
- In his preview of their offseason, Danny Leroux of The Athletic says the Sixers’ combination of “elite talent, thorny contract structure, and high stakes” makes them one of the NBA teams with the most potential to make a major move or two this fall.
- Rivers’ union with the Sixers after winning a title with Boston 12 years ago will make for an interesting chapter in the 76ers/Celtics rivalry, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
- In case you missed it, we relayed earlier today that Alvin Gentry has emerged as a serious candidate to join Rivers’ staff as an assistant.
Coaching Rumors: Gentry, Vanterpool, Rockets, Pelicans, More
After being dismissed by New Orleans in August, Alvin Gentry hasn’t been linked to any head coaching openings, but he’s reportedly drawing interest from multiple teams for a potential assistant role.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday evening (via Twitter) that Gentry has emerged as a “serious possibility” to join Doc Rivers‘ staff with the Sixers. The two veteran coaches have a pre-existing relationship, as Gentry was the associate head coach under Rivers during his first year with the Clippers in 2013/14.
While Philadelphia is one possibility for Gentry, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) hears that New Orleans’ former head coach is also in the running to become the Kings‘ associate head coach under Luke Walton. Gentry and Walton were previously members of Golden State’s coaching staff during the 2014/15 season.
Here are a few more coaching rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool will be among the candidates interviewing for the Rockets‘ head coaching job, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Vanterpool is also believed to be a candidate for Indiana and Oklahoma City, and was considered by Chicago before the club hired Billy Donovan.
- Confirming a previous report from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter) that Tyronn Lue has meetings lined up with the Pelicans and Rockets. Lue is also a leading candidate for the Clippers‘ job, and Woj notes that L.A. is expected to begin meeting with candidates soon.
- The Pelicans‘ head coaching search process is underway, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), who hears that the plan is to eventually bring in two or three finalists for formal in-person interviews. It’s not clear when those face-to-face meetings will happen though, Lopez adds. A previous report on Lue’s meeting with New Orleans on Friday suggested it would be an “informal” discussion.
- Some people with the Nets view Oklahoma City assistant Brian Keefe as a good fit for Steve Nash‘s staff in Brooklyn, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Keefe was in OKC with Kevin Durant from 2007-15 and returned to the team last year, but isn’t a lock to be back with the Thunder after the club’s head coaching change.
Dave Joerger A Strong Contender For Pacers’ Coaching Job
The Pacers are meeting with head coaching candidates this week and next, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger has met with the team and is considered a “strong contender” for the position.
Wojnarowski says that Pelicans assistant Chris Finch is among the candidates to meet with Indiana, and adds that Chauncey Billups will also get an interview.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst previously reported that the Pacers had talked to over 20 candidates about their head coaching job, but it’s possible those conversations were informal in nature, and that the team is now narrowing down the field as it conducts more in-depth interviews.
While we don’t know the full list of the 20+ candidates who have talked to the Pacers, Finch’s name is the 19th we’ve heard linked to the job, as our head coaching search tracker shows. Indiana’s interest in Joerger and Billups had been previously reported.
After parting ways with Nate McMillan, Pacers management talked about wanting to hire a head coach who takes a “modern approach” to the game and has the ability to connect with younger players.
Jerami Grant Expected To Draw Interest From Pistons, Suns, Hawks
After a strong showing in the playoffs, Nuggets forward Jerami Grant is expected to turn down his $9.3MM player option in favor of free agency. A recent report from Mike Singer of The Denver Post indicated that there appears to be mutual interest in a new deal between the Nuggets and Grant, who could command upwards of $14-16MM per year.
However, Denver is expected to face stiff competition for Grant’s services. According to Singer, the Pistons, Suns, and Hawks are among the clubs that are expected to express interest in the forward once free agency begins.
As Singer notes, Detroit and Atlanta will have plenty of cap room available, and Phoenix has a path to open up space as well. All three teams could make contract offers worth significantly more than the mid-level (projected to be worth about $9.3MM).
Pistons general manager Troy Weaver and Suns head coach Monty Williams are both former Thunder employees, so they’re very familiar with Grant, who played in Oklahoma City from 2016-19 before being traded to the Nuggets last July. The Hawks have no obvious connection to the 26-year-old through their front office or coaching staff, but he’d be a nice fit on a squad that had the NBA’s third-worst defensive rating this season.
Of course, the Nuggets will hold Grant’s Bird rights, allowing them to go over the cap to make a competitive offer for the former Syracuse standout. Head coach Michael Malone told reporters today that Grant is “a big part of our future,” as Eric Spyropoulos of Nuggets.com relays.
Grant averaged 12.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .478/.389/.750 shooting in 71 games (26.6 MPG) for the Nuggets in 2019/20 and became a full-time starter in the postseason as the team made a run to the Western Conference Finals. His outside shooting ability and defensive versatility will make him one of this offseason’s most popular free agents.
It’s worth noting that the Suns and Pistons are also expected to have interest in free agent point guard Fred VanVleet, while Phoenix and Atlanta have been linked to sharpshooter Davis Bertans. The Hawks can afford to pursue multiple top free agents, but the Suns and Pistons are less likely to fit two pricey new contracts in under the cap. If they go after another top free agent like VanVleet or Bertans instead, that could take one of Grant’s potential suitors out of the mix.
Atlantic Notes: Kemba, Tatum, Nets, Knicks
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge doesn’t expect Kemba Walker to require offseason surgery to address his left knee issues, but said today that the point guard was “definitely not himself” during the playoffs, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. According to Ainge, the club will construct a plan for Walker going forward to try to avoid having that happen again.
“In fairness to Kemba, he doesn’t want to say (that he wasn’t himself). He doesn’t say that to our coaches. He doesn’t say that to you, the media. He doesn’t say that to me. I haven’t heard one excuse from him,” Ainge said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “But watching the games, even the games we won, even the games where he played well, I could tell he wasn’t the same physically as he was in October, November, December. So we’re going to try to get that Kemba back.”
While Walker still made some big plays for the Celtics en route to the team’s appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, his postseason numbers reflect that he wasn’t at his best. He made just 31.0% of his three-point attempts in 17 playoff contests after knocking down 38.1% during the season.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Ainge didn’t sound worried about being able to lock up Celtics forward Jayson Tatum to a long-term contract extension sooner rather than later. “Jayson knows how much we like him,” Ainge said, according to Bontemps. “We have a good relationship. Jayson likes it here, so I’m confident that we’ll be able to work something out this summer — this offseason, I should say.”
- Appearing on Kevin Durant‘s podcast this week, Nets teammates Durant and Kyrie Irving denied playing a role in Kenny Atkinson‘s dismissal and made some unusual comments about the club’s new head coaching situation. Brian Lewis of The New York Post has the details.
- Alex Schiffer and William Guillory of The Athletic explore whether a Jrue Holiday trade between the Pelicans and Nets might make sense, as well as what such a deal would look like. The two Athletic writers conclude that it’s probably not a great match.
- Marc Berman of The New York Post takes a closer look at Tyrese Haliburton as a possible Knicks draft target, while Kira Lewis‘ trainer Cory Underwood talks to Ian Begley of SNY.tv about the Alabama guard’s potential fit with the Knicks.