Thunder Notes: George Trade, SGA, Adams
Although the Thunder didn’t initially want to move Paul George during the summer when he requested a trade, the franchise was widely lauded for the package it extracted from the Clippers in the deal the two teams eventually made. Among those who thought the Thunder did well? George himself, who spoke about the trade this week when he faced his old team.
“I thought it worked out great for them,” George said (video link via Ben Golliver of The Washington Post). “I think Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) is a future star and he’s proven that he can carry a load. … He works hard, works on his game. And then him just being under CP (Chris Paul), he’s going to learn so much. So they got a star. And Danilo (Gallinari) is a proven scorer, a big-time scorer.
“And then, I mean, the 100 picks that they got,” George continued with a laugh. “Their future’s bright. (Thunder general manager) Sam Presti‘s a proven expert at drafting and they’re going to be great in the future.”
As George noted, the Thunder received five first-round picks in the trade, including four unprotected first-rounders, along with the ability to swap two additional first-rounders with L.A. While it wasn’t quite “100 picks,” it was a massive haul for OKC, and a price the Clippers were willing to pay because they knew it would mean securing a commitment from Kawhi Leonard as well.
Here’s more on the Thunder:
- George isn’t the only member of the Clippers who believes Gilgeous-Alexander has star potential. As Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman relays, Lou Williams said his former backcourt mate is “gonna be a star,” while head coach Doc Rivers went one step further, calling SGA a potential “superstar” and lamenting the fact that he had to be dealt to OKC to get George. “Obviously it’s the price of doing business in the NBA and it’s a trade you have to do, right?” Rivers said. “But as excited as I was when we knew that the whole deal was going through, when (president of basketball operations) Lawrence (Frank) told me the Shai name was still in it, you were sad. You were disappointed.”
- Veteran Thunder center Steven Adams is still limited by a knee injury that sidelined him for a handful of games earlier this season, Mussatto writes for The Oklahoman. Nerlens Noel was OKC’s center down the stretch on Tuesday while Adams sat. “Obviously we’re dealing with Steven’s knee still,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I don’t want to say he’s on a minutes restriction, but we’re trying to be mindful and keep him in a range.”
- In case you missed it, we identified Chris Paul as one veteran to watch in our first look at potential 2019/20 trade candidates in the Northwest division.
Bulls’ Otto Porter Out At Least Two More Weeks
The Bulls will be without starting forward Otto Porter Jr. for at least a couple more weeks, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the team, Porter underwent another MRI on his left foot on Tuesday and it revealed bone bruising not apparent on the original MRI. The 26-year-old will continue to receive treatment for the injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, per the Bulls.
Porter has already missed the Bulls’ last five contests, having not played since he left the team’s November 6 game in Atlanta early due to that bruised left foot. The timing was unfortunate for the veteran forward, who struggled in his first seven games, with 10.0 PPG on 34.8% shooting, but appeared to be heating up in his last couple outings, with 15.5 PPG on 66.7% shooting.
Chandler Hutchison, who started Chicago’s last five games, will continue to play an increased role while Porter is sidelined.
[UPDATE: Hutchison will miss the Bulls’ Wednesday game vs. Detroit with an injury of his own.]
Porter’s ability to return to the Bulls’ lineup and have a positive impact will be a major factor in his looming contract decision next offseason. He holds a $28.49MM player option for 2020/21 and may simply pick up that option if he has a down year. On the other hand, a strong, healthy finish could put him in position to opt out in search of a longer-term deal.
Igor Kokoskov To Coach Serbian National Team
Former Suns head coach and current Kings assistant Igor Kokoskov has been named the new head coach of the Serbian National Team, according to a press release. The move will put Kokoskov in position to coach Team Serbia next summer as the program attempts to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
Marc Stein of The New York Times, who reported the impending hiring of Kokoskov on Tuesday night, tweets that the Serbian program received permission from the Kings this week to hire the veteran assistant. Kokoskov will succeed Sasha Djordjevic, who resigned in September following the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Entering the World Cup this fall, Serbia was viewed as the most dangerous challenger to the United States, led by star center Nikola Jokic. However, Team Serbia had a disappointing showing, failing to claim a medal or a spot for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. One of the four Olympic qualifying tournaments next June will be held in Belgrade, so Kokoskov will need to lead the program to victory in that tournament to secure an Olympic berth.
A native of Serbia, Kokoskov previously coached the Slovenian National Team, leading that club to a 2017 EuroBasket victory over Serbia. He was also the head coach of the Georgian National Team from 2008-15.
More recently, Kokoskov became the NBA’s first European-born head coach when he was hired by the Suns in 2018/19. However, he lasted just a single season in Phoenix before being replaced by Monty Williams. After interviewing for the Grizzlies’ head coaching vacancy this spring, Kokoskov ultimately landed in Sacramento on Luke Walton‘s staff.
NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Northwest Division
Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.
All five Northwest teams entered the 2019/20 season with playoff aspirations, which could create an interesting situation by the trade deadline. Will several of these clubs be competing with one another for the top trade candidates on the market? Or will a couple Northwest teams fall short of their goals and pivot to selling as the deadline nears?
While it’s too early to make any sweeping judgments on the five Northwest squads, all of whom have won between five and nine games, here are three players who could emerge as trade candidates as the season progresses:
Chris Paul, PG
Oklahoma City Thunder
$38.5MM cap hit; increasing guaranteed cap hits through 2021/22
When the Thunder officially acquired Paul from Houston on July 16, many NBA observers assumed his stint in Oklahoma City would be short-lived. Four months later though, Paul is still on OKC’s roster and has played pretty well in the early going, averaging 16.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, and .462/.426/.873 shooting through 13 games.
It’s still possible that Paul will be part of two consecutive trades – no NBA teams have completed a deal since that July 16 blockbuster – but it has become increasingly obvious that his contract will be a major impediment. Even after this season, CP3 still has another two years and $85MM+ left on his deal, and the fact that it extends into the 2021/22 campaign is problematic. Given how star-studded the 2021 free agent class is expected to be, teams are reluctant to surrender significant cap space in that summer.
While the Heat have been linked to Paul most often, I’d be surprised if Miami and Oklahoma City strike a deal. A team without major free agent aspirations for 2021 would be a better fit, so perhaps a club like the Timberwolves ultimately emerges as a more serious suitor.
Jeff Teague, PG
Minnesota Timberwolves
$19MM cap hit; UFA in 2020
Speaking of the Timberwolves, they’ve made it clear that they’re seeking a long-term answer at the point guard spot, which doesn’t bode well for Teague’s long-term future in Minnesota.
Another sign Teague’s days with the Timberwolves may be numbered? When Gersson Rosas took over as the club’s president of basketball operations last summer, nine Wolves were eligible for free agency and a 10th had a non-guaranteed contract. None of those 10 players returned. Rosas will be aggressive in shaping the sort of roster he wants in Minnesota, and so far it doesn’t appear as if his vision overlaps much with that of the team’s previous decision-makers.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Teague is a goner, but his $19MM expiring contract would make him an ideal salary-matching piece if Rosas gets aggressive at this season’s trade deadline, since it’d be easier to move than the pricey multiyear contracts belonging to Gorgui Dieng and Andrew Wiggins.
Hassan Whiteside, C
Portland Trail Blazers
$27.1MM cap hit; UFA in 2020
At this point, the Trail Blazers still badly need Whiteside. Jusuf Nurkic remains sidelined for the foreseeable future, Zach Collins figures to miss most of the season with a shoulder injury, and Pau Gasol has yet to make his Portland debut.
However, Whiteside is essentially a temporary placeholder in the middle until Nurkic is able to return. Once Nurkic is healthy, he’ll reclaim his starting spot, relegating Whiteside to a bench role. If Gasol is healthy and Collins is close to returning at that point, there will be even fewer minutes to go around in the frontcourt. And, of course, dissatisfaction with his playing time was what led Whiteside’s stint in Miami to go south.
Whether or not Whiteside ends up on the trade block will hinge in large part on the health of those other three big men. If the Blazers are comfortable with their depth up front, Whiteside’s $27MM+ expiring contract could be a useful trade chip as the club seeks much-needed help at the forward spot. But if Portland is still shorthanded at center when the deadline arrives, moving Whiteside may not be a viable option.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pat Riley Talks Heat Roster, Outlook, First-Round Picks
Although the Heat are cap-strapped for now, they have long targeted the summer of 2021 as a time to potentially make a big splash. Maintaining cap flexibility for that offseason is one reason why the team has been unwilling to make a play for Chris Paul, whose contract extends through 2022.
Speaking today to reporters, Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley spoke about that idea of retaining flexibility for 2021 while also leaving the door open to potentially upgrade a team that’s off to a 9-3 start this season.
“Right now, we’re in the present moment,” Riley said, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “We can manage all the flexibility that we need depending on how we see the team perform. I’m patient but if something happens and it can make a huge difference, I’m all for it. If not, we’ll wait.”
Riley, who said he’s “pleased” with his team’s performance so far and is “cautiously optimistic” about Miami’s outlook going forward, addressed several other topics during his conversation with reporters today. Here are a few of the highlights, via Jackson’s round-up:
- Responding to the suggestion that the Heat’s current roster pieces fit together nicely, Riley agreed, though he suggested that’s something the front office will continue to monitor. “They fit until they don’t. Some nights, it looks like nothing fits. But right now, Spo (Erik Spoelstra) has exactly what he needs for how he wants to play,” Riley said. “… When we signed Jimmy Butler, I knew we were going to be as good or maybe better. Now much better would be dependent on other factors, the performances of other players. Was Meyers Leonard going to fit in? Our young players. The development of Bam (Adebayo) and Justise (Winslow). You just go on and on. So yes, I’m pleased.”
- Riley declined to predict what might happen with players like Goran Dragic, Derrick Jones, and Leonard reaching free agency in 2020, reiterating that the club is living in “the present moment” and indicating those decisions will be made down the road.
- Riley didn’t specifically address the Dion Waiters situation, but said it’s “always disappointing” to have to discipline players. “There has not been a year in my career there has not been adversity and you deal with it,” Riley said. “… It’s been dealt with. We’ll move on, as we have.”
- The Heat have traded away multiple future first-round picks, but Riley doesn’t mind just having a first-rounder every other year as long as his club is consistently making the playoffs. “Let’s say a great team is (drafting) 20 to 30 – you are in top 10 (in the NBA standings) – let’s say you are there,” Riley said. “I think a draft pick every other year is good. I never had a chance to really get a lot of lottery picks. I’ve been lucky to have great players.”
- Riley is pleased that the Heat haven’t had to truly bottom out since the days of their Big Three, though he acknowledges that it took a few seasons to retool the roster and regain assets: “We were not in a desperation mode. … [But] it took time to create the capital – draft capital, monetary capital, health capital – to do certain things.”
Knicks Notes: Randle, Fizdale, Dotson, Barrett
Before putting up 30 points on Monday against Cleveland, Julius Randle had struggled in his first few weeks as a member of the Knicks, averaging 15.5 PPG on .423/.200/.623 shooting with 3.8 TOPG through 13 games. Randle was the team’s big free agent addition of the offseason, inking a three-year deal worth about $19MM per season. However, the big man told Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that the pressure of living up to that contract isn’t the reason for his slow start.
“No, the money is in the bank. So it’s not pressure for that,” Randle said. “Me and (head coach David Fizdale) joke about it all the time — the money is the bank, just go out and have fun. But moreso than the money, I have more responsibility.”
As Randle explained, he’s essentially the No. 1 offensive option for the Knicks, a role he didn’t have on his previous teams. As he continues to adjust to that new role, Randle is leaning on agent Aaron Mintz to help keep him focused and on the right track, as he told Bondy.
“I talk to (Mintz) every day. He talks me off a ledge every day. It’s like, I joke with him, it’s like my sane side — him and my wife,” Randle said. “Because I’m ready to blow up and they kind of talk me back to reality. He gives me a day just to chill out and then he talks me back to reality.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- David Fizdale dismissed concerns about his job security on Tuesday, telling reporters – including Ian Begley of SNY.tv – that he gets regular votes of confidence from team owner James Dolan. “Every game, every game. Jim Dolan comes in and gives me a vote of confidence, a pat on my back and really has just been incredibly encouraging over the last year and a half or whatever it’s been,” Fizdale said. “All we talk about is just sticking to the process of making these guys better and building for a future of sustainable winning.”
- The Knicks have no shortage of options for their backup shooting guard job, but Damyean Dotson appears to be claiming that role for now, as Marc Berman of The New York Post details. Dotson has averaged 19.6 minutes per game over New York’s last five contests, while Allonzo Trier has played 21 total minutes during that stretch and Wayne Ellington has played just 18. Dotson and Trier will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end; Ellington has a non-guaranteed $8MM salary for 2020/21.
- Mike Vornukov of The Athletic and Kevon Pelton of ESPN each take a look at RJ Barrett‘s early-season workload, exploring how closely that issue is worth monitoring.
- As we relayed earlier today, Elfrid Payton will be sidelined for at least 10 more days due to a hamstring strain.
Knicks’ Elfrid Payton Out At Least 10 More Days
Knicks point guard Elfrid Payton, who hasn’t played since October 28 due to a strained right hamstring, still hasn’t fully recovered from that injury and will remain sidelined for the time being, the team announced today (via Twitter).
Head coach David Fizdale said today that Payton has started jogging again (Twitter link via Marc Berman of The New York Post). However, according to the Knicks, he’ll be out for at least another week and a half, and will be re-evaluated in 10 days.
While it’s a rough break for Payton, who has been plagued by injuries over the last couple years, his absence makes some rotation decisions simpler for the Knicks. Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. will continue to receive opportunities at the point while Payton sits, with RJ Barrett taking on some ball-handling duties as well.
Ntilikina, Smith, and Payton are looking to make strong impressions on the Knicks this year, as the 2020 offseason figures to be important for all three players. Ntilikina and Smith will become extension-eligible next July, while Payton could return to the unrestricted free agent market if New York opts not to fully guarantee his $8MM salary for 2020/21. Currently, just $1MM of that figure is guaranteed.
Brett Brown Finalizing Deal To Coach Australian National Team
Sixers head coach Brett Brown is in the process of finalizing a deal that would once again make him the head coach of Australia’s national team, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Brown, who has been the Sixers’ coach since the 2013/14 season, previously served as an assistant for the Australian national team from 1995-2003, then took over as the program’s head coach in 2009. He remained in that role through 2012, leading Australia to an appearance in the quarterfinals of the ’12 Olympics in London — the team was eliminated by the United States.
Before he became an assistant for the Spurs in 2002, Brown coached multiple teams in Australia and New Zealand, spending time in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.
Since taking over as the 76ers’ head coach, Brown has amassed a 186-319 (.368) record, though most of those losses were accumulated during the “Process” years as the franchise went through a long rebuild. Since the start of the 2017/18 season, Brown has a 111-66 (.627) regular season record, plus a 12-10 mark in the playoffs.
Brown will be assuming control of an Australian club that has already claimed its spot in the 2020 Olympics as a result of its 2019 World Cup success. Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, and former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut are among the notable players expected to represent Australia in Tokyo next summer.
It will be interesting to see whether Brown’s hiring will influence Ben Simmons‘ Olympic decision. Simmons, who plays for Brown in Philadelphia, opted against joining Australia for the World Cup but could still suit up for the squad in Tokyo.
Trail Blazers Officially Sign Carmelo Anthony
The Trail Blazers have officially signed Carmelo Anthony to his one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who notes that Anthony passed his physical and will wear No. 00 in Portland (Twitter links).
“Carmelo is an established star in this league that will provide a respected presence in our locker room and a skill set at a position of need on the floor,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement formally announcing the signing.
Anthony and the Blazers first reached an agreement last Thursday, but took several days to finalize the deal as the veteran forward took his physical and targeted Tuesday for his potential Portland debut. The Blazers will play in New Orleans tonight before finishing their road trip with stops in Milwaukee (Thursday), Cleveland (Saturday), and Chicago (next Monday).
[RELATED: Inside the Trail Blazers’ signing of Carmelo Anthony]
Anthony, who hasn’t played in an NBA game in over a year, will look to help turn things around for the 5-9 Blazers, who currently rank 12th in the Western Conference after being blown out by the Rockets, Carmelo’s old team, on Monday night. While there’s skepticism that the 35-year-old will help improve Portland’s ailing defense, he can at least give the club some frontcourt scoring, which new forwards like Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja, and Anthony Tolliver have struggled to consistently provide.
Because four weeks of the NBA regular season have already passed, Anthony will earn a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum. If he remains under contract through January 7 and has his salary for 2019/20 fully guaranteed, he’ll earn a total of $2,159,029. His cap hit on Portland’s books will be $1,364,204, though he’ll ultimately cost the team more than that due to added tax penalties.
No corresponding roster move was necessary for the Blazers, since they’d been carrying just 14 players on standard contracts, one below the NBA’s maximum.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blazers Notes: Carmelo, Lillard, Slow Start
In a video posted to YouTube on Monday, Carmelo Anthony spoke about reaching an agreement to sign with the Trail Blazers, a deal that’s expected to be finalized later today. According to Anthony, he and Damian Lillard had talked “off and on” for the last couple years about the possibility of teaming up, and the 10-time All-Star is excited to get that chance now.
“I always kept my eye on Portland. It just didn’t work at other times, but now it seems like it’s a perfect opportunity,” Anthony said. “… I just look at that opportunity, that team, and say, ‘Look, this is what I can bring to the team. This is where I can help.’ It will only work if all parties see it the same way.”
Here’s more on Carmelo and the Blazers:
- David Aldridge of The Athletic hopes the marriage between the Blazers and Anthony works out, but is skeptical that it will. One “NBA guy” who spoke to Aldridge expressed a similar uncertainty about the partnership, but did add, “He should help some. ‘Melo can score, period.”
- Anthony will be joining the Trail Blazers during a trying period for the team — Portland is coming off a blowout loss at the hands of the Rockets and is now 12th in the West at 5-9. As Jason Quick of The Athletic relays, three years ago, when the Blazers were in a similar spot, Lillard publicly said the team “sucked.” But the star point guard isn’t willing to make the same assessment of this year’s squad. “I’m just older,” Lillard said. “It’s not impossible for me to think we suck, but I just better see what can be now. Even then I felt like we were going to be fine … and now, I feel like we are going to be cool. I mean, it’s such a long season. And we’ve won 13 games in a row before. And, things can’t go much worse. They just can’t go much worse.”
- CJ McCollum also weighed in on the Blazers’ struggles and why he and Lillard are reacting differently than they may have in the past, per Quick: “We were so young (in 2016), so it was more like, we would say the right things but we really didn’t know it was going to happen,” McCollum said. “Yeah, we would say, ‘We are going to turn it around,’’but in the back of your mind it was, ‘Are we really going to turn it around?’ Now, it’s like you understand the schedule, the travel, and you understand the game turns around at some point.”
- As we noted on Monday, injured center Jusuf Nurkic has officially missed out on a games-played bonus in his contract for the 2019/20 season.