Sixers Assured Of Receiving OKC’s 2020 First-Round Pick
The Thunder‘s last-minute win over the Heat on Wednesday assured that Oklahoma City will send its 2020 first-round pick to the Sixers, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.
That selection had been top-20 protected, and the Thunder had been hovering around the league’s 10th-best record since even before the season was suspended in March. Currently, Oklahoma City is tied with Houston at 44-27, meaning the pick projects to land at either No. 23 or 24, as our reverse standings show.
If OKC loses its final seeding game on Friday against the Clippers, the pick could end up as high as No. 21. However, it can’t get to No. 20, since the Heat and Pacers (both currently 44-28) will play each other on Friday, guaranteeing that at least one of those teams will finish with a worse record than the Thunder. As such, the top-20 protection won’t apply.
The pick will be an important asset this offseason for the 76ers, since they previously traded their own 2020 first-round pick to the Clippers (who flipped it to Brooklyn). If the Thunder’s first-rounder had landed in the top 20, Philadelphia would have instead received OKC’s 2022 and 2023 second-round picks.
The Sixers originally acquired the Thunder first-rounder in 2016 in exchange for Jerami Grant. Philadelphia sent it to Orlando during the 2017 draft to acquire Anzejs Pasecniks‘s rights, but later acquired it back in its 2019 Markelle Fultz trade with the Magic.
Seven Of Eight First-Round Playoff Matchups Set
AUGUST 13: Following wins by the Thunder and Clippers on Wednesday night, three Western Conference first-round matchups have now been set, with only the Lakers still awaiting their opponent. Those first-round series are as follows:
- Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Play-in winner (8)
- Los Angeles Clippers (2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (7)
- Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Utah Jazz (6)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (4/5) vs. Houston Rockets (4/5)
We’ll know by the end of Thursday which two teams out of the Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, Suns, and Spurs will be participating in the play-in tournament in the West, but it may be Sunday before the Lakers know their first-round opponent.
AUGUST 12: As a result of the Pacers’ 108-104 win over Houston this afternoon, the four Eastern Conference matchups for the first round of the postseason have been set. They are as follows:
- Milwaukee Bucks (1) vs. Orlando Magic (8)
- Toronto Raptors (2) vs. Brooklyn Nets (7)
- Boston Celtics (3) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (6)
- Miami Heat (4/5) vs. Indiana Pacers (4/5)
Typically, the Heat and Pacers would be continuing to fight for home court advantage in their series, but the unusual nature of this season means claiming the No. 4 seed instead of No. 5 won’t make much of a difference.
Despite the fact that several teams were within two or three games of one another in the standings when the restart began – or were even tied, like the Pacers and Sixers – the first-round matchups in the East look exactly the same as they did when the season was suspended on March 11.
Over in the West, a small number of teams – including the No. 1 Lakers – are locked into their playoff spots, but most matchups remain up in the air. For now, the most likely pairings are Lakers/play-in winner, Clippers/Mavericks, Nuggets/Jazz, and Rockets/Thunder, but one or more of those could change by Friday.
2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Detroit Pistons
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 Detroit Pistons.
Salary Cap Outlook
Trading Andre Drummond at the February trade deadline ensured that the Pistons will be able to create some cap room this offseason.
The exact amount available will hinge on several factors, including how many non-guaranteed contracts and free agents the team wants to retain, where its lottery pick lands, and how much the league-wide salary cap increases, if at all.
However, even a fairly conservative estimate – which assumes no cap increase and Detroit retaining its non-guaranteed players and Christian Wood‘s cap hold – should comfortably get the Pistons to $25MM+ in space.
Our full salary cap preview for the Pistons can be found right here.
Roster Decisions To Watch
Options:
- Tony Snell, player option: $12,178,571 (Oct. 11 deadline)
- Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, team option: $1,663,861 (Oct. 15 deadline)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts:
- Justin Patton ($1,824,003)
- Bruce Brown ($1,663,861)
- Khyri Thomas ($1,663,861)
- Note: Partially guaranteed for $744,684.
Two-Way Contracts:
- Jordan Bone (expiring)
- Louis King (expiring)
Free Agents:
- Christian Wood (Early Bird)
- Langston Galloway (Bird)
- Brandon Knight (Bird)
- John Henson (Bird)
- Jordan McRae (Early Bird)
- Thon Maker (RFA; Bird)
2020 Draft Assets
First Round:
- No. 5 overall pick (pending lottery results)
The Pistons have the fifth-best lottery odds, but their most likely pick is No. 7 (26.7%). They have a 10.5% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 42.1% chance at a top-four selection, with No. 6 (19.6%) and No. 8 (8.8%) also realistic possibilities. No. 5 (2.2%) and No. 9 (0.6%) are longer shots.
Second Round:
- None
Three Key Offseason Questions
1. How much longer will Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose be Pistons?
Trading Drummond and buying out veteran point guard Reggie Jackson earlier this year signaled that the Pistons are entering a full-fledged rebuild. The hiring of Troy Weaver – a longtime member of the Oklahoma City front office who advocated for drafting Russell Westbrook back in 2008 and helped turn the Thunder into perennial contenders – suggests that the new general manager will get a chance to put his own stamp on the franchise as it accumulates talent.
With that in mind, it’s hard to see how former No. 1 overall picks Griffin and Rose fit into the Pistons’ plan going forward. Both players are 31 years old and have troublesome injury histories. Rose is entering a contract year, while Griffin has two years left on his deal. In other words, neither player seems all that likely to be part of the next Pistons playoff team.
That doesn’t mean that Detroit will look to move them both this offseason though. Rose will certainly enter the fall as a trade candidate, but the Pistons decided not to trade him at the 2020 deadline despite receiving offers. It wouldn’t be a shock if they rebuff interest again and wait until next year’s trade deadline to seriously consider moving on from the former MVP.
As for Griffin, his value took a major hit following a lost 2019/20 season in which he was limited to 18 games due to knee problems. With $75.8MM owed to him over the next two years, Griffin is a negative trade asset, meaning it wouldn’t be in the Pistons’ best interests to pursue a deal at this point.
It makes far more sense for the team to be patient in the hopes that Griffin can bounce back in 2020/21, rebuilding his value and perhaps becoming a more viable trade chip before his contract expires in 2022.
If the right deal comes along, Weaver certainly won’t hesitate to move both Rose and Griffin sooner rather than later. But if they don’t get any offers they love, the Pistons shouldn’t be in any rush to move the former All-Stars, whose veteran leadership could still be useful for a young team.
2. Is Luke Kennard a long-term keeper or a trade chip?
The 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Kennard is still just 24 years old and remains a year away from restricted free agency, with a very affordable $5.3MM cap hit for 2020/21. There’s no reason he can’t be part of the Pistons’ rebuilding process if the team views him as a long-term contributor.
However, it remains to be seen how committed Detroit is to making Kennard a franchise building block. The young sharpshooter was the subject of trade rumors in February, with reports at the time suggesting that a proposed deal with the Suns was close to being completed, before it fell apart.
With Weaver now in the front office mix, it will be interesting to see which direction the Pistons go with Kennard, whose shooting ability and still-modest cap charge would make him an intriguing target for cost-conscious teams seeking three-point help in ’20/21.
The former Duke standout will become eligible for a rookie scale extension this October, and engaging in exploratory talks on a new deal should give the Pistons a sense of how much it will cost to retain Kennard. If the team feels that money would be better spent elsewhere, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear Kennard’s name resurface in trade rumors in the coming months. On the other hand, if the price is right, the two sides will be in good position to commit to a long-term union.
3. How much are the Pistons willing to pay to retain Christian Wood?
Kennard’s extension isn’t the most pressing contract decision the Pistons will have to make on one of their current players. Unlike Kennard, who remains under contract for one more year, Wood will become a free agent this October, and he’ll be unrestricted, free to sign with any team.
Wood will hit the free agent market on the heels of a breakout year. His full-season stats (13.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG) don’t tell the full story — after he entered the starting lineup following the Drummond trade, Wood recorded 22.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 2.0 APG over his final 13 games. He also showed off an improved three-point shot, making 54-of-140 attempts (38.6%) on the season, despite having only attempted 42 threes prior to 2019/20.
Wood’s impressive performance, his age (25 in September), and a weak 2020 free agent class will make him one of the fall’s most attractive young UFA targets. However, a massive payday is no lock. His lack of track record could hurt him, and so will the fact that only a small handful of teams have cap room available. If those teams use their space elsewhere, Wood could have trouble finding an offer worth more than the mid-level from any team besides Detroit.
Recognizing that Wood’s market might be limited, the Pistons will want to avoid overpaying to retain the big man, who – like Kennard – is young enough to be part of the team’s rebuild.
With few long-term financial commitments on their books, the Pistons can comfortably afford to go up to the $15MM-per-year range for Wood, but if that doesn’t get it done, the team may be wary about surrendering additional flexibility for a player with such a limited résumé (Wood had appeared in 51 total games for four teams before this season).
Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacers Sign Nate McMillan To Contract Extension
12:01pm: It’s official, according to a team press release. McMillan has been extended for one additional year, through the 2021/22 NBA season, per J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star.
7:17am: The Pacers have reached an agreement on a contract extension with head coach Nate McMillan, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Monetary terms of the new deal aren’t yet known, but McMillan previously had one year left on his contract. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides finalized the new agreement in recent days.
It was just last week that rumors surfaced about McMillan’s job security, with ESPN analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Zach Lowe noting on a podcast that they had heard whispers about the veteran head coach being on the hot seat. At the time, Lowe stressed that the Pacers had been consistent in denying those rumors — based on today’s news, it seems the team was serious about sticking with McMillan.
The former head coach of the SuperSonics and Trail Blazers, McMillan took over the top job in Indiana in 2016, receiving a promotion to replace Frank Vogel after spending three years as an assistant on Vogel’s staff.
McMillan has guided the Pacers to a 181-136 (.571) record over the last four seasons, earning four consecutive playoff berths. Indiana’s 43-28 (.606) mark this season represents the club’s highest winning percentage since 2013/14.
The Pacers haven’t yet won a playoff series under McMillan, and there had been some chatter about a need to modernize the team’s offense, which ranks last this season in three-point attempts per game (27.8).
However, as Wojnarowski notes in his report, the 56-year-old is well-respected around the NBA and has been lauded in recent years for maximizing the Pacers’ roster despite losing star forward Paul George – who requested a trade in 2017 – and dealing with a handful of major injuries, including the torn quad tendon that sidelined Victor Oladipo for a full year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: 2020/21 Season, Giannis, Bubble, Execs
The National Basketball Players Association has always viewed the NBA’s proposed start date of December 1 for the 2020/21 season as unlikely, a point that NBPA executive director Michele Roberts reiterated this week in a conversation with Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Roberts speculated that next season won’t start until early 2021. She also echoed another point she has made previously, suggesting that it’s hard to imagine how the NBA can play without a bubble if the state of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t significantly improve.
“Right now I don’t see how sports can be played outside of a bubble concept,” Roberts told Mannix. “I don’t see that, given the state of where we are. Given the absence of a vaccine. Because as long as this thing spreads the way it spreads, the only way you can stop the spread from impacting their ability to perform, and this is at any job, is to isolate. Keep people separated and maintain as much distance as possible.
“Now, having said that, do I think our guys are going to be in a bubble for six or seven months? Hell no,” Roberts continued. “It’s not going to happen. I think what we’re going to have to do is figure out creatively how we can have bubble-like the environments that allow us to play the number of games that we believe we need to play in order to complete the season and crown a champion.”
According to Roberts, she has had “healthy conversations” with players about what next season might look like, but for now the focus remains on safely finishing the 2019/20 campaign.
Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Although Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo technically left the NBA’s campus for his recent oral surgery, the trip didn’t count as leaving the bubble and he wasn’t required to quarantine upon returning. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains, the league has “privatized” a dentist’s office in the Orlando area — players who go there and back from the Walt Disney World campus are considered safe, since the dentists and their assistants are tested daily.
- With 22 teams sharing Walt Disney World hotels and players across the NBA feeling united in the fight for social justice, there has been more fraternizing among rival players in Orlando than usual. Sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that some coaches have encouraged players to dial back on those friendly interactions with opponents as the postseason approaches. Those requests have been “met with mixed reviews among players,” per Haynes.
- In an entertaining piece for ESPN.com, Brian Windhorst details how an oft-overlooked award – Executive of the Year – can inspire pettiness and jealousy among the NBA presidents and general managers who vote on the annual honor.
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Thunder, Booker, Bazley, Jazz
When the Nuggets rested all five of their starters for the entire fourth quarter in a close loss to the Lakers on Monday night, it was clear that the team was prioritizing health over its playoff seed, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Having been shorthanded throughout the restart, Denver will want to make sure it keeps key players like Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Paul Millsap off the injured list with the playoffs around the corner.
Fortunately for the Nuggets, two of their missing rotation players may be nearing a return. As Singer relays (via Twitter), TNT’s Jared Greenberg said on Monday night’s broadcast that the club is hoping to have Gary Harris and Will Barton available on Friday for the last of eight seeding games. Neither player has suited up so far this summer.
Meanwhile, rookie Vlatko Cancar, who is recovering from a foot fracture, has arrived at the Walt Disney World campus and is in quarantine, according to Singer (Twitter link). Although Cancar isn’t expected to play, the Nuggets can now say their entire team is in Orlando, Singer notes.
Let’s round up a few more notes from around the Northwest…
- Former Suns GM Ryan McDonough, who drafted Devin Booker with the No. 13 pick in 2015, tells Chris Mannix of SI.com that the Thunder tried to trade up one spot from No. 14 in what he believes was an effort to nab Booker themselves. “You could kind of hear or sense the air come out of the (OKC) room,” McDonough said of the moment when he told the Thunder he was drafting Booker. “You could tell they wanted him.”
- Although he has been part of the Thunder‘s rotation for most of his rookie season, Darius Bazley has received a bump in minutes this summer and has responded well, with his first career double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) on Monday. Nick Gallo of OKCThunder.com notes that Bazley’s play in the restart bodes well for his long-term potential, while Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman points to the 20-year-old’s shot selection as a key reason for his breakout.
- Like Denver, the Jazz are prioritizing staying healthy and developing their bench players as the postseason nears, says Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Miye Oni, Jarrell Brantley, and Rayjon Tucker are among the beneficiaries, playing at least 23 minutes apiece on Monday vs. Dallas.
Dennis Schröder Returns To NBA’s Campus
Thunder guard Dennis Schröder has returned to the NBA’s campus at Walt Disney World, a team spokesperson confirmed to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman on Tuesday. Schröder left Orlando over a week ago in order to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.
Assuming Schröder tested negative for the coronavirus for each of the last seven days while away from the campus, the expectation is that he’ll have to quarantine for just four days now that he’s back at Disney World. We don’t know exactly when Schröder returned and began quarantining, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll be available to play in Oklahoma City’s final seeding game on Friday vs. the Clippers.
At the very least, Schröder figures to miss Wednesday’s game against Miami. If the veteran guard doesn’t clear quarantine in time for Friday’s game, the Thunder will plan to work him back into the rotation during the first game of the postseason next week, barring any quarantine- or testing-related complications.
While he was away from the NBA’s campus, Schröder was named a finalist for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award for 2019/20. He has enjoyed the best year of his career in OKC this season, averaging 18.9 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.7 RPG with career-best shooting percentages of 46.9% from the floor and 37.9% from beyond the arc.
NBA To Announce Awards For Top Bubble Performers On Saturday
The NBA announced today in a press release that it will name an All-Seeding Games Team and the Player of the Seeding Games to honor the top performers of the summer restart.
According to the league, media members – sportswriters and broadcasters – who have been on site at the Walt Disney World campus covering the restart will vote on the awards. Those voters will select a total of 10 players for the All-Seeding Games First Team and Second Team.
The winners will be announced on August 15 – this Saturday – before the first game of the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Because these awards will only reward the top performers for the eight seeding games played between July 30 and August 14, players from the bottom eight teams obviously won’t be eligible.
However, players who may not receive serious consideration for full-season awards – such as Pacers forward T.J. Warren – will have an opportunity to earn a spot on the All-Seeding Games Team based on their strong play this summer.
The NBA recently announced the finalists for its full-season awards, including MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year, among others.
New York Notes: Nets Guards, KD, DSJ, K. Payne
Both Tyler Johnson and Chris Chiozza will be free agents at the end of the 2019/20 season, as Johnson signed a one-year contract in June and Chiozza’s two-way deal is expiring as well. However, the two guards are making a strong case to be considered for next season’s Nets roster, as Tom Dowd of BrooklynNets.com writes.
The Nets’ rotation has been in a state of flux this summer due to injuries, opt-outs, COVID-19 cases, and some lineup experimentation. However, Johnson and Chiozza have often shared the backcourt as part of the club’s second unit, and the pairing has worked. Entering today’s game, Chiozza is averaging 9.2 PPG and 5.0 APG in six games during the restart, while Johnson has contributed 11.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.8 APG.
“I think it’s a great combination; two guards that can pass and shoot pretty well,” Chiozza said, per Dowd. “He’s a smart player so it’s easy to play with him. He knows how to move when I’ve got the ball and I feel like we get each other a lot if open shots.”
Meanwhile, veteran guard Jamal Crawford was supposed to be a backcourt contributor for the Nets this summer after signing as a substitute player, but has been limited to just six minutes due to a hamstring injury.
Despite not playing much, Crawford has provided great leadership for the Nets, including Caris LeVert, head coach Jacque Vaughn said this week (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post). According to Vaughn, Crawford may not return before the seeding schedule ends, but the team remains confident he can contribute this summer.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- When the Nets clinched a playoff spot, it assured injured star Kevin Durant of a $1MM bonus, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter). Because the bonus had been considered “likely” rather than “unlikely,” earning it this season won’t impact Durant’s cap hit for 2020/21.
- Former lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. finds himself at a crossroads as he enters a contract year under new Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. One scout who spoke to Berman is curious to see how the team handles Smith in ’20/21. “He’s certainly not a Thibs kind of player, but let’s see how committed they are to getting him right,” the scout said. “You don’t want to force it because they traded (Kristaps) Porzingis for him. Knowing when to cut bait is important. There may be too many things to fix with him.”
- New Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne is primarily known for three things, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News: recruiting, relationships, and developing frontcourt players. As Bondy writes, the Knicks will hope that Payne can assist in their efforts to attract stars to New York.
Andre Iguodala: I Have “About A Year Or Two Left”
During last year’s NBA Finals, then-Warriors forward Andre Iguodala addressed the topic of his eventual retirement, suggesting that he had “a good idea” of how much longer he wanted to play. At the time, Iguodala claimed he could play four or five more years, but didn’t plan to do so.
Speaking this week to Mark Medina of USA Today, Iguodala – now a member of the Heat – revisited that topic and provided a more concrete timeline for the potential end of his career.
“I have about a year or two left,” the former Finals MVP told Medina. “I’m serious this time. I got two left.”
When the Heat acquired Iguodala from the Grizzlies at this year’s trade deadline, they agreed to a two-year contract extension that includes a guaranteed $15MM salary for 2020/21 and a $15MM team option for ’21/22. Presumably, the 36-year-old plans to play out that contract, though if Miami doesn’t pick up his option next year, perhaps he’ll consider retiring after just one more season.
According to Medina, one of the primary factors in Iguodala’s thinking is his desire to spend more time with his family, helping wife Christina raise their teenage son, Andre Jr.
“He lives a rich and soft life. So I have to prepare him to be self-sufficient,” Iguodala told Medina, half joking. “He’s smart enough, but he hasn’t dealt with any danger. Coming from where we come from, it helps us in terms of having street awareness. You have to scope the scene and know there is danger around. But he’s so comfortable that I have to reign him in.”
Iguodala no longer has the same kind of impact on the court that he did when he averaged nearly 20.0 PPG with the Sixers in 2008 or when he won his NBA Finals MVP award with Golden State in 2015. Still, he has established himself as a regular, reliable part of the Heat’s rotation since joining the club in February. In 20 games for Miami (20.2 MPG), he has averaged 4.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.6 APG.