Latest On Possibility Of Timberwolves Sale
The Straus Group, an investment firm founded by Daniel Straus, is exploring the possibility of purchasing the Timberwolves, people with knowledge of the matter tells Gillian Tan of Bloomberg. It’s not clear if The Straus Group is operating alone or as part of a consortium, according to Tam.
Straus has been involved in NBA team ownership in the past, having controlled shares of the Grizzlies up until 2018. Majority owner Robert Pera bought out Straus and fellow minority stakeholder Steve Kaplan two years ago after a clause in their purchase agreement was triggered — if Pera hadn’t purchased Straus’ and Kaplan’s shares in the team, he would’ve had to sell the Grizzlies to them at the same valuation.
Straus is one of just many potential bidders in the mix for the Timberwolves, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who tweets that a number of people and groups with interest have not yet been publicly identified. Former NBA players Kevin Garnett and Arron Afflalo are believed to be part of two separate groups with interest in purchasing the franchise.
[RELATED: Glen Taylor Discusses Potential Timberwolves Sale]
According to Charley Walters of The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Garnett’s group includes a pair of billionaires from California and another one from Florida. Walters suggests that the plan would be for KG to invest $200MM and to become the head of basketball operations if his group were to buy the team. If that’s accurate, it’s not clear what it would mean for current president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.
Walters also reports that the asking price for the Timberwolves – along with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx – is expected to be in the $1.2 billion range, though that’s obviously subject to change depending on how the bidding plays out.
Offseason Extension Unlikely For Bam Adebayo?
After a breakout season in 2019/20, big man Bam Adebayo will be eligible for a rookie scale contract extension this offseason, but the Heat may wait until 2021 – when he reaches restricted free agency – to lock him up, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
[RELATED: Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2020 Offseason]
Within his larger look at NBA team owners’ financial situations, Windhorst said the Heat “might” not extend Adebayo this offseason because it will help them preserve cap room for 2021, when they want to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo and/or other star free agents. Addressing the situation in a podcast, Windhorst took a stronger stance.
“He’s not going to get a max contract in the offseason,” Windhorst said of Adebayo, per RealGM. “Even though I think he should. Because the Heat are going to save money for the 2021 summer. That’s a storyline that I can almost guarantee for you: Bam Adebayo will not sign a contract extension this offseason. It will be, ‘Bam, we’ll take care of you later.'”
This isn’t the first time this idea has been broached. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald suggested in the spring that the Heat would consider the possibility of waiting on Adebayo’s new deal, especially with the coronavirus pandemic expected to limit the amount the salary cap will increase within the next year or two.
If he doesn’t sign an extension during the 2020 offseason, Adebayo would enter the 2021 offseason with a cap hold of $15.35MM. He’d be eligible to sign for up to five years with the Heat at that time, and Miami would have the right of first refusal, meaning the club could match any offer sheet he signs with another team. As long as the Heat carry that $15.35MM cap hold, they’d be able to go over the cap to re-sign Adebayo once they use up the rest of their space.
If the Heat were to sign Adebayo to a maximum-salary extension this offseason, they’d enter the 2021 offseason with that max salary already on their books. That exact amount will depend on where the ’21/22 cap lands, but there’s a good chance Adebayo would be making at least $28-29MM.
In other words, the Heat could generate upwards of $13-14MM in extra cap flexibility in 2021 by waiting to sign Adebayo, then going over the cap to lock him up. For his part, Adebayo could end up with an identical deal whether he signs this year or next.
Assuming Adebayo is on board with the plan, it makes sense for the team to go this route. Often, a club will sign a young star to a max-salary extension as soon as possible to show its commitment to him and to give the player financial security so that he doesn’t have to worry about the possibility of getting injured in a contract year. The Heat would surely be willing to take that path as well if Adebayo pushes for it. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel observes, the organization can’t – and won’t – let the situation get contentious.
But if Adebayo is comfortable taking on a little risk to assist in the Heat’s pursuit of roster upgrades, it could be a win-win for the two sides — Miami would gain extra flexibility, while Adebayo could eventually get his max-salary contract with an even stronger roster around him.
Anthony Davis’ Status For Thursday TBD
After sitting out of the Lakers‘ third and final scrimmage on Monday, star forward/center Anthony Davis also missed the team’s practice on Tuesday, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times.
Head coach Frank Vogel told reporters on a Zoom call that Davis is feeling discomfort in his right eye and will be re-evaluated on Wednesday (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin). His status for Thursday’s showdown with the Clippers remains up in the air, according to the Lakers’ coach.
“There is some concern that he potentially will not play Thursday, but we’re hopeful that he does,” Vogel said of Davis.
The Lakers open the summer schedule with a 5.5-game lead on the Clippers for the Western Conference, so Thursday’s game isn’t insignificant. If the Lakers win it, they’ll essentially lock up the No. 1 spot in the West. Of course, even if the Lakers drop that game, they’ll still have a fairly comfortable 4.5-game cushion with seven games left to play, so the team won’t rush AD back if he’s not 100%.
If Davis is unable to go, Kyle Kuzma looks like the most logical candidate to take his place in the starting five.
After Thursday, the Lakers have games on tap with the Raptors on Saturday, Utah on Monday, and Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Restart Notes: COVID-19, Campus, Silver, Drug Testing
Less than a week into the Major League Baseball season, more than a dozen players and staffers on the Miami Marlins tested positive for the coronavirus, resulting in multiple postponed games and serious questions about the viability of MLB’s plan to complete its season. However, because the NBA has gathered its teams in a single location, the league remains confident in its plan despite observing the MLB outbreak from afar, writes Mark Medina of USA Today.
“I don’t even compare the two,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “What they’re doing and what we’re doing is so different. I like what we’re doing.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to feel safe here, and I feel super safe,” Pelicans guard J.J. Redick said of the NBA’s campus. “This is an environment here I feel has been really good. The protocols are in place. It’s hard to compare what baseball or the NFL is doing because it’s not what we’re doing. We’re doing something completely different. But obviously we’re all watching to see how baseball and football work given the uncertainty of next season as well.”
As Medina points out, the NBA isn’t ready to run a victory lap just yet, considering its season won’t be over for another two-plus months, and plenty could go wrong between now and then. However, the last coronavirus testing update issued by the league indicated that there had been zero new positive tests on the Walt Disney World campus, which bodes well for the NBA’s plan.
Here’s more on the restart:
- While MLB’s coronavirus outbreak may not be of immediate concern to the NBA, it will give the league more to think about in relation to its 2020/21 season, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The ’20/21 campaign is tentatively scheduled to begin as early as December and the hope is that teams will be able to play in their home arenas.
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who is scheduled to make his first appearance at the Florida campus this week, said he thinks the league’s plan is going “very well” so far, as Marc Stein of The New York Times writes. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re on the right track,” Silver said.
- The NBA sent a reminder today to teams that random drug testing for steroids, PEDs, masking agents, and diuretics will resume on Thursday when seeding games get underway, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). The NBA and NBPA previously reached an agreement to resume PED and steroid testing this summer, while marijuana testing remains paused.
- As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press details, the NBA’s efforts to keep its Orlando campus safe even extend to new protocols for the handling of referee whistles.
Princepal Singh Opts For G League Professional Path
Princepal Singh, a 6’10” forward from India and a graduate of the NBA Academy, has signed a contract to play in the G League in 2020/21, the NBAGL announced today in a press release. Singh will “train and compete alongside” the new Select Team, according to today’s announcement.
Singh, who joined The NBA Academy India in 2017 and transitioned to the league’s Global Academy in Australia in 2018, will be the first graduate of the program to sign a professional contract and the first to sign with the G League.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer Princepal the opportunity to begin his professional basketball journey in the NBA G League,” NBAGL president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “We’ve long hoped that our development pathway for elite high school players would include roster spots for emerging international talent, including players who have participated in the NBA Academy program, and we’re excited to have Princepal forge this new path and develop his skills in our league.”
[RELATED: NBA G League Development Program Revamped]
Singh, who has a 7’2″ wingspan, is a good athlete with solid offensive versatility, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that the youngster was receiving interest from major U.S. college programs. Givony isn’t convinced that Singh is an NBA-caliber player, but the Indian prospect remains focused on making it to the Association, as he told Anirudh Menon of ESPN earlier this year.
As a result of joining the NBAGL professional path, Singh will get the opportunity to train and play alongside top prospects such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Daishen Nix, and Isaiah Todd, among others.
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Lillard, Jazz, Wolves
The Nuggets have been one of the most short-handed teams at the NBA’s campus so far, having been limited to just eight players in each of their first two scrimmages this summer. However, reinforcements are on the way for Monday’s game against Orlando.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters this afternoon that Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., and Keita Bates-Diop will all be available to play in tonight’s game, increasing the team’s roster count to 12 (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of The Athletic).
While he won’t be active tonight, Nuggets guard Monte Morris moved one step closer to getting back on the court as well, having cleared quarantine, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets. He seems likely to be ready by the time Denver plays its first seeding game vs. Miami on Saturday.
Let’s round up a few more Northwest items…
- Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard missed Sunday’s scrimmage against Toronto due to inflammation in his left foot, but head coach Terry Stotts said the club doesn’t expect it to be “a long-term thing,” writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com.
- Sarah Todd of The Deseret News takes a deep dive into the Jazz‘s ability to retain both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert long term, exploring the odds of the team doing so and speculating about what their contracts might look like.
- University of Denver guard Ade Murkey, a Minnesota native, has interviewed with his hometown Timberwolves during the pre-draft process, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Murkey averaged 18.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG with a .481/.400/.731 shooting line as a senior.
Financial Effects Of Pandemic Likely To Impact NBA Offseason
A number of team owners around the NBA are feeling the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, for instance, has seen business fall off precipitously at his restaurants, hotels, and casinos, while Heat owner Micky Arison has had to temporarily shut down his Carnival Cruise Lines.
While some team owners have been hit harder than others by the effects of COVID-19, there’s an expectation that the pandemic will have a league-wide impact on spending this offseason, as Windhorst writes. Some teams may have to make difficult financial decisions that could result in unexpected player movement.
“With few exceptions, no one wants to make long-term commitments right now,” one general manager told ESPN. “You can already feel it coming.”
In addition to the teams that may feel pressure to dump pricey contracts or avoid expensive free agent commitments, some clubs may face financial constraints in the draft. Although selling second-round draft picks remains fairly common, no NBA team has sold a first-round pick since the Nuggets did so with the No. 27 selection in the 2013 draft, according to Windhorst. Some people around the league believe that teams will consider the possibility again in 2020.
“I suspect first-round picks will be for sale in this draft,” a team executive said. “We haven’t really seen that in a decade.”
Here are a few more noteworthy details and quotes from Windhorst’s examination of NBA teams’ finances:
- Warriors owner Joe Lacob has told his fellow owners that he’s exploring a deal with Goldman Sachs to raise up to $250MM to manage expenses, per Windhorst. Sources tell ESPN that other team owners are considering ways to raise capital as well, with some – including the Rockets – pursuing legal action against companies that have denied coronavirus-related insurance claims.
- Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently took out a $300MM loan and is more leveraged than many other owners, since he purchased the franchise fairly recently, but he continues to insist he’s not looking to sell any shares in the team. Brokers who have approached him representing potential bidders have been told the same, reports Windhorst.
- Nets owner Joseph Tsai recently sold about 25% of his shares in tech company Alibaba, according to Windhorst. Other owners might not have similar opportunities to raise capital. “I don’t know what will happen, but I may lose $50MM next season,” one owner told Windhorst. “If that happens, I have three options: I could borrow the money, I could sell part of the team or I could do a cash call and me and my partners would have to write checks.”
- NBA rules allow team owners to borrow $325MM against the equity in their franchises. A majority of NBA teams – including the Warriors – have maxed out that credit, sources tell Windhorst.
- Although the Buss family’s pockets aren’t as deep as some of their fellow owners, the Lakers bring in about $200MM annually from their local TV deal and aren’t expected to have any issues re-signing Anthony Davis, writes Windhorst.
Southwest Notes: Mbah A Moute, Rivers, Porzingis, Spurs
Speaking today to reporters for the first time since reporting to the NBA’s campus and clearing quarantine, Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute confirmed that his arrival was delayed because he had contracted the coronavirus, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Mbah a Moute signed with the Rockets on July 7 as a substitute player replacing Thabo Sefolosha, but didn’t arrive in Orlando until last Wednesday. According to Feigen, Mbah a Moute said today that he dealt with “chills (and) body ache” while battling COVID-19, adding that the recovery was “tough.”
Meanwhile, Mbah a Moute’s teammate Austin Rivers hasn’t tested positive for the coronavirus, but remains quarantined in his hotel room after briefly leaving the Orlando campus last week. Rivers, who returned on Saturday, is scheduled to complete his four-day quarantine period on Tuesday and should be ready to go for the Rockets’ first seeding game this Friday vs. Dallas, Feigen writes for The Chronicle.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis was held out of Sunday’s scrimmage because he missed a mandatory coronavirus test on Saturday, though head coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t overly upset by the mistake, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “This situation was one where he just took his eye off the ball a little bit in terms of the day-to-day protocols and procedures,” Carlisle said. “It can be challenging on off days to keep track of the schedule. I almost missed testing on our first off day. … It’s an innocent mistake, but it’s significant.”
- Trey Burke just signed with the Mavericks on July 1 and was late arriving to the NBA’s campus in Orlando, but he believes his experience playing for Carlisle in 2018/19 will help him quickly adjust, Sefko writes at Mavs.com. “I feel comfortable, rather than other places coming into a new place and it’s a brand new system and a brand new coaching staff,” Burke said. “I pretty much know the pace that coach likes to play with, I know how hard he can be on guys and I’m ready for that.”
- With LaMarcus Aldridge and Trey Lyles sidelined for the summer, the Spurs are experimenting with some guard-heavy lineups, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. One unit, which features recent first-rounders Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, and Lonnie Walker playing alongside each other, could be a preview of the club’s future backcourt, McDonald notes.
Latest On Potential 2020 NBA Draft Combine
The NBA has begun sending emails to select players telling them they’ve been selected to attend this year’s draft combine, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
However, that message comes with a caveat, per Givony — the league says no decisions have been made yet about when or where the combine will take place, what form it will take, or even if it will occur at all. As Givony adds (via Twitter), the NBA is asking prospects to fill out a pre-combine questionnaire by this Friday and has promised more details as they become available.
The 2020 draft combine was scheduled to take place in May in Chicago, but has been delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Word broke last week that the NBA had sent a memo to teams informing them of the 105 prospects who received the most votes to be invited to a combine, if one takes place. Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com has a list of those 105 players right here. The expectation is that about 60 or 70 of those players would ultimately attend a combine, either virtually or in-person.
Reports are surfacing identifying some of the players who have received combine invitations. Most of those names are unsurprising and overlap with the players on ESPN’s top-100 list, but that’s not the case for all of them.
For example, Josh Newman of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that BYU forward Yoeli Childs has been invited, while Zagoria says (via Twitter) that Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi and Illinois center Kofi Cockburn are among the invitees. None of those players show up on ESPN’s top-100 big board.
Aron Baynes Receives Clearance To Travel To Orlando
Suns center Aron Baynes has cleared the NBA’s medical protocols after contracting COVID-19 and has been given the go-ahead to travel, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Baynes is set to arrive at the Walt Disney World campus later today.
[RELATED: Aron Baynes reveals he tested positive for COVID-19]
Once he gets to Disney World, Baynes will have to quarantine for two days, returning a pair of negative coronavirus tests before he’s cleared to join the Suns for practices. If he can get up to speed quickly, he could still suit up for the team’s first seeding game on Friday vs. Washington.
The Suns are currently six games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with four other non-playoff teams ahead of them in the standings. As such, the odds of Phoenix capturing that No. 8 seed are slim.
Still, with unrestricted free agency looming this summer, Baynes has some incentive to show that he’s healthy and productive to finish the season. He has enjoyed a career year so far, averaging 11.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a .351 3PT% — all of those numbers are career highs. The veteran big man also filled in admirably in the starting five when Deandre Ayton served a 25-game suspension early in the season.