Timberwolves Notes: Nori, Finch, Ownership, Rebounding
Speaking on Wednesday to reporters, Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori said that Chris Finch‘s knee surgery went well, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links). According to Nori, the team is still considering options for Finch for Game 1 on Saturday, including the possibility of moving some seats around on the bench to make room for the head coach.
If having Finch on the bench isn’t practical, he may end up watching from a suite and joining the team before the game and at halftime, Nori said. According to the Wolves’ assistant, there were some conversations about the idea of Finch texting the staff with observations during the game, but Finch apparently doesn’t love the idea of meddling in that way.
With Nori set to serve as the Timberwolves’ acting head coach if Finch is unavailable for Game 1, Krawczynski takes a more in-depth look at the veteran assistant whom Anthony Edwards calls a “genius.” According to Krawczynski, Nori has an “encyclopedic grasp of opponent tendencies” and delivers feedback to players in a uniquely humorous way.
“He’s brutally honest but still funny,” said Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who worked with Nori when the coach was on Michael Malone‘s staff in Denver from 2015-18. “He says brutally honest stuff in really funny ways. That’s what makes him a really interesting, really funny guy.”
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- As reported last week, the mediation session in the Timberwolves’ ownership dispute between Glen Taylor and the Alex Rodriguez/Marc Lore group is beginning on Wednesday. Nick Williams of The Star Tribune examines what that means, noting that if the issue isn’t resolved through mediation, the next step would be an arbitration process that must be completed within six months.
- Eben Novy-Williams and Michael McCann of Sportico also check in on the Wolves’ ownership situation, noting that the retired judge who will oversee the mediation process (Rick Solum) has a lengthy history with sports lawsuits — he also mediated a 2020 suit filed against Taylor by a group of plaintiffs who accused the Wolves’ owner of “sabotaging their investment into a medical device company.” Rodriguez and Lore chose Solum from a handful of possible mediators provided by Taylor, per Sportico.
- The Timberwolves’ effective shooting percentage during their first-round series vs. Phoenix was lower than their regular season mark, but their offensive rating was up by 8.6 points per 100 possessions, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, who points to the team’s offensive rebounding as a key reason for its success on that end of the floor. Minnesota’s 39.2% offensive rebounding percentage has easily been the best mark of any team in the first round, but it will be tested against a Nuggets squad that ranks third in playoff defensive rebounding percentage (78.8%).
- In case you missed it, the NBA announced today that Mike Conley won this season’s Teammate of the Year award. We have the full story here.
Wolves’ Mike Conley Named 2023/24 Teammate Of The Year
Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley has been named the NBA’s Teammate of the Year for the 2023/24 season, the league announced today (via Twitter).
The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award “recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and a role model to other players, and commitment and dedication to team,” per the NBA.
The award isn’t voted on by media members. A panel of league executives select the 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, while current players vote on the winner. Players receive 10 points for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one point for fifth place.
Here are this season’s full voting results, according to the NBA, with the player’s point total noted in parentheses:
- Mike Conley, Timberwolves (1,172)
- Mikal Bridges, Nets (1,041)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (783)
- T.J. McConnell, Pacers (759)
- Georges Niang, Cavaliers (748)
- Al Horford, Celtics (634)
- Larry Nance Jr., Pelicans (627)
- Jalen Williams, Thunder (565)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nuggets (560)
- Dwight Powell, Mavericks (549)
- Harrison Barnes, Kings (435)
- Markelle Fultz, Magic (421)
It’s the second Teammate of the Year award for Conley, won also won it in 2018/19 when he was a member of the Grizzlies.
The award, which was introduced in ’12/13, had gone to Jrue Holiday in each of the past two seasons (and three of the past four), with Damian Lillard taking it home in 2021.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Minimum Salary Exception
The minimum salary exception is something of a last resort for capped-out teams looking to add players, as well as for players seeking NBA contracts, but it’s one of the most commonly used cap exceptions.
As its name suggests, the minimum salary exception allows an over-the-cap team to sign a player to a minimum-salary deal. A contract signed using the minimum salary exception can be a one- or two-year deal, but can’t cover more than two seasons.
Teams can use the exception multiple times in a league year, giving clubs that have used all of their cap room and other exceptions an avenue to fill out their rosters. The exception also accommodates teams’ acquisitions of minimum-salary players via trade, as players signed via the minimum salary exception don’t count as incoming salary for salary-matching purposes.
Players are entitled to varying minimum salaries based on how long they’ve been in the NBA. In 2023/24, a player with no prior NBA experience was eligible for a $1,119,563 minimum salary, while a player with 10 or more years of experience was eligible for $3,196,448.
[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2023/24]
Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minimum salary is adjusted each season to reflect the year-to-year salary cap change. If the cap increases by 5%, so will minimum salaries. If the cap doesn’t change from one season to the next, neither will minimum salaries.
Our minimum-salary estimates for 2024/25, based on a projected salary cap of $141MM, can be found right here.
There’s a wide disparity between the minimum salary for rookies and for long-tenured players, with a minimum-salary veteran of 10+ seasons earning nearly three times as much as a rookie making the minimum next season. The NBA doesn’t want those pricier deals to discourage clubs from signing veterans, however, so the league reimburses teams for a portion of a minimum-salary player’s cost if he has three or more years of experience, as long as the contract is a one-year deal.
For example, when the Bucks signed 11-year veteran Jae Crowder to a one-year pact for 2023/24 using the minimum salary exception, he locked in a salary of $3,196,448, but the team’s cap hit was just $2,019,706, equivalent to the minimum salary for a player with two years of NBA experience. The league will reimburse the Bucks for the difference between Crowder’s salary and cap hit ($1,176,742).
Many salary cap exceptions can only be used once each season. When a team uses its full mid-level exception to sign one or more players, the club can no longer use that exception until the following league year. Unlike the mid-level and other cap exceptions though, the minimum salary exception can be used any number of times in a single season.
The Suns, for instance, used the minimum salary exception to sign Eric Gordon, Damion Lee, Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu, Bol Bol, and Yuta Watanabe last offseason. They also used it during the season to add Thaddeus Young and Isaiah Thomas on rest-of-season contracts.
While many exceptions begin to prorate midway through the regular season, the minimum salary exception prorates beginning after opening night. If a season is 174 days long and a player signs a minimum-salary deal after 25 days have passed, he would only be paid for 149 days.
An extreme example of a prorated minimum salary occurred when the Clippers signed Kai Jones to a minimum-salary contract on the final day of the 2023/24 season. Last year’s rookie minimum for a player like Jones – with two years of NBA experience – was $2,019,706, so he received 1/174th of that amount: $11,608.
In cases where a veteran player signs a one-year contract using the minimum salary exception midway through a season, his cap hit is prorated in the same way that his salary is.
When Young signed with the Suns on February 20, 2024, there were 55 days left in the ’23/24 season. He earned a rest-of-season salary of $1,010,371 (55/174ths of his full-season minimum of $3,196,448), while his cap hit was $638,413 (55/174ths of $2,019,706, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience).
When a player signs a two-year contract using the minimum salary exception, his second-year salary is locked in as part of that agreement. Depending on the amount of the second-year cap increase, he may end up making more or less than the amount he would have earned if he’d instead signed two consecutive one-year minimum contracts.
On a two-year, minimum-salary deal, the player’s second-year salary is worth 105% of the first-year minimum for a player with the same years of NBA experience.
For example, a rookie signing a two-year minimum-salary deal in 2023/24 would be assured of $1,891,857 in ’24/25, once he has one year of NBA experience under his belt — that’s 5% more than the minimum for a player with one year of NBA experience in ’23/24 ($1,801,769).
Finally, it’s worth noting that the minimum salary exception can be used to claim a player off waivers in the same way that it can be used to trade for a player. However, in the case of both trades and waiver claims, a minimum-salary player can’t be acquired using the minimum salary exception if his contract is for more than two years or if his salary exceeded the minimum in any previous year of the contract.
When the Wizards waived Isaiah Livers in April, he was earning a minimum salary for 2023/24 ($1,836,096). But Livers was in the third year of his contract and had earned more than the minimum in his first season of that deal — both of those factors made him ineligible to be claimed using the minimum salary exception, so if a team had wanted to claim him, it would have needed to use cap room or a trade exception.
Here are a few more notes on the minimum salary exception:
- Players signed using the minimum salary exception are eligible for trade bonuses, but not incentive bonuses. A minimum-salary player with a trade bonus cannot be acquired in a trade using the minimum salary exception unless he waives that bonus.
- When a minimum-salary player is traded during the season, any reimbursement from the NBA is split between his two teams. It’s prorated based on the number of days he spends with each club.
- If a minimum-salary player with a non-guaranteed salary is waived before he exceeds the minimum for a two-year veteran, his team won’t be reimbursed for any portion of his salary.
- Every 10-day contract is worth a prorated minimum salary. The NBA also reimburses teams for a portion of the 10-day minimum salary for veterans with three or more years of experience.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and the Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.
Central Notes: Portis, Giannis, Lillard, LaVine, Morris, Pistons
Bucks forward Bobby Portis, who was ejected in the first quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 loss in Indiana, apologized to his teammates prior to Game 5, then matched Khris Middleton‘s game-high 29 points in Milwaukee’s home win on Tuesday, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“I’m an emotional player, I wear my heart on my sleeve, I give my all every night and take pride of being available for my team,” Portis said on Tuesday. “Game 4, little scuffle, maybe crossed the line. I let my team down by getting ejected and not being available for my team. I owed them an apology for sure.”
With Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf strain) and Damian Lillard (Achilles tendinitis) both unavailable for Game 5, the rest of the Bucks’ starters came up big to extend the team’s season. Portis (29 points, 10 rebounds), Middleton (29 points, 12 rebounds), and Patrick Beverley (13 points, 12 assists) each posted double-doubles, while Malik Beasley and Brook Lopez combined for 30 points.
The Bucks are still down 3-2 to the Pacers in the series, but forcing a Game 6 on Thursday gives Antetokounmpo and Lillard another chance to return to the court. Their availability remains up in the air, but head coach Doc Rivers expressed some optimism after Tuesday’s victory.
“I think they’re very, very, very close,” Rivers said of his two stars, per Collier.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Zach LaVine is “well ahead” of the four-to-six month recovery timeline the Bulls set after he underwent right foot surgery in February, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Johnson says LaVine’s goal remains to resume on-court work at around the three-month mark, in the hopes of having a “relatively normal” offseason. Both Johnson and Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reiterate that trying to make a LaVine trade is the top priority for the Bulls this summer — that task should be less complicated if he’s healthy.
- After joining the Cavaliers as a free agent in March, veteran forward Marcus Morris didn’t play a significant role down the stretch, averaging 15.0 minutes per game in 12 regular season appearances and sitting out the team’s first two playoff contests. But he was a key contributor off the bench in Tuesday’s Game 5 win, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds in 26 minutes of action. “We knew what he’s capable of,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Morris, who was a +8 in the one-point victory. “He’s just a guy you trust. And he’s been through these battles before. He’s tough as nails. He’s not afraid of s–t.”
- Within his latest mailbag for The Athletic, James L. Edwards III discusses whether Brandon Ingram is a realistic trade target for the Pistons and checks in on Detroit’s president of basketball operations search. Confirming reporting from Marc Stein, Edwards says Dennis Lindsey is a name to watch for the Pistons. Edwards also mentions Bulls general manager Marc Eversley and Timberwolves executive VP of basketball operations Sachin Gupta as possible candidates to keep an eye on.
Sixers Notes: Maxey, Embiid, Nurse, Harris
After winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for 2023/24 last week, Tyrese Maxey capped a memorable April with the biggest game of his four-year NBA career on Tuesday. The star guard scored 46 points in 52 minutes, including seven in the final 30 seconds of regulation to force the game into overtime, leading the Sixers to a Game 5 victory that kept their season alive.
“What was going through my mind was trying to survive,” Maxey said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Our season is on the line. I trust my work. I trust what I’ve done all my life, and I just tried to get to a spot, raise up and knock that shot down.”
The Sixers’ other star, Joel Embiid, had a triple-double in Tuesday’s victory, racking up 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. But Embiid, who is dealing with a sore knee, a case of Bell’s palsy, and a migraine that forced him to miss Tuesday morning’s shootaround, clearly wasn’t operating at full strength and made just 7-of-19 shots from the field. Last season’s MVP said after the game that he appreciated Maxey coming through when the club needed him most.
“Tonight, obviously based on the circumstances and knowing what was needed, based on what was happening and me not being able to be myself, he just had to do it,” Embiid said, per Bontemps. “And he did it. That’s why he is such an amazing basketball player.”
Here’s more on the Sixers, who now trail the Knicks 3-2 in their first-round series:
- Embiid has become public enemy number one among Knicks fans during the first round, especially following a physical Game 3 performance in which he was accused of committing a “dirty” foul on opposing center Mitchell Robinson. However, the Sixers star had nothing but praise for the New York faithful after being on the receiving end of their vitriol in Game 5, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It’s not hostile. I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world. I have a place here for the past five years. I just love New York,” Embiid said. “And then the (Knicks) fans, when you play against a team they’re always gonna pick that guy. And they seem to have picked me, which is fine. I love it. If I gotta be the punching bag and keep hearing a lot of ‘F Embiid,’ that’s ok. I love it.”
- Nick Nurse become the second NBA head coach to suffer an injury during the postseason, though it doesn’t sound as if his issue is as serious as Chris Finch‘s patellar tendon tear, which required surgery. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, Nurse injured a finger during Tuesday’s game when he slammed his hand in frustration over a call. It’s unclear if he broke or sprained the finger, but the 76ers’ coach couldn’t grip a marker to draw up plays during the second half, Begley adds.
- Prior to Tuesday’s game, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that it might be a good idea to bring struggling forward Tobias Harris off the bench after he scored no more than 10 points in any of the series’ first four games. However, Nurse stuck with Harris in the starting five and the veteran rewarded his faith in Game 5, Pompey notes, scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Harris was a +11 in 49 minutes of action. “Coach drew up some opportunities for me early on to get me going,” Harris said. “And I think that was just big for myself and overall, and just getting into a rhythm and getting into a flow out there.”
Pelicans Notes: Offseason, Ingram, Center, Point Guard
Entering the final day of the regular season earlier this month, the Pelicans just needed a victory to secure the No. 6 seed in the West. However, they lost that game, lost their first play-in game, and lost star forward Zion Williamson in that contest to a hamstring injury that turned out to be a season-ender. New Orleans ultimately claimed the No. 8 seed in the West, but was quickly dispatched by the Thunder in a four-game sweep.
Speaking on Tuesday to reporters (Twitter video link), head of basketball operations David Griffin said there were “so many positives” to take away from the season, pointing to the Pelicans’ league-best 28-14 road record and their sixth-best net rating (+4.6). But while he acknowledged that the team was once again bitten by the injury bug at an inopportune time, he said the front office can’t just bring back the same group and hope for better health luck next season.
“In the past, we’ve always erred on the side of continuity, and our takeaway has always been, ‘Let’s see this group healthy.’ I think we’ve seen it enough,” Griffin said. “I think we had a really, really good opportunity to see Zion play a career high in games. I think we saw it for segments of time well enough to understand that we’ve got a lot of work to do. Because it is a historically good Western Conference, there are teams that didn’t make the playoffs that are going to get radically better this offseason. We need to do the same. I think you’ll see a real sense of urgency from all of us to do that.
“… I want to be really, really clear,” Griffin added (Twitter video link). “This is not going to be a summer of complacency. It’s time to get better.”
The Pelicans aren’t quite as loaded with draft assets as they once were, but they’re still in good position to make a deal heavy on picks. They control all their own future first-round selections, an unprotected Lakers first-rounder (they can take this year’s No. 17 pick or defer it to 2025), an unprotected Bucks first-rounder (2027), and swap rights with Milwaukee in 2026.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- The Pelicans will face a significant decision this offseason on Brandon Ingram, as the star forward prepares to enter the final year of his maximum-salary contract following an ugly series vs. the Thunder (14.3 PPG on .345/.250/.895 shooting). As Christian Clark of NOLA.com writes, if they don’t want to enter next season with Ingram on an expiring deal, the Pels will have to determine this summer whether to trade or extend him. “That’s not in the front of my mind right now,” Ingram said after Monday’s Game 4 loss. “This is a place where I got my first All-Star (appearance). Where they let me be myself. I have good relationships with everyone. But you never know. I will take a few weeks off and think about what’s best for me, what’s best for my family. Then take it from there.”
- While sorting out Ingram’s future will likely be their top priority, the Pelicans have plenty of important items on their summer to-do list, according to offseason previews from ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) and Mark Deeks of HoopsHype. Trey Murphy will be eligible for a rookie scale extension, Naji Marshall will be an unrestricted free agent, and New Orleans would presumably like to find a center who can reliably close games after having to bench both Jonas Valanciunas and Larry Nance in certain matchups. Valanciunas will also be a free agent this offseason.
- Adding a traditional point guard to their roster may be another item on the Pelicans’ offseason to-do list. Asked today about that possibility, Ingram acknowledged, “It would definitely be helpful” (Twitter link via Clark). CJ McCollum has been New Orleans’ primary point guard since being acquired from Portland, but it’s not his original position.
Celtics’ Porzingis To Miss Game 5 With Strained Calf
4:30pm: Porzingis is expected to miss multiple games, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
4:03pm: Porzingis has been ruled out for Game 5 due to what the Celtics are calling a right soleus strain (Twitter link via Brian Robb of MassLive.com).
The soleus is the same calf muscle that has sidelined Giannis Antetokounmpo since the final week of the regular season, though it’s unclear whether Porzingis’ strain is as severe as Antetokounmpo’s.
7:40am: The Celtics took full control of their first-round series vs. Miami on Monday by picking up their second consecutive road victory and extending their series lead to 3-1. However, as Chris Herring of ESPN writes, the Game 4 win might have come at a cost, as big man Kristaps Porzingis exited in the second quarter due to a right calf injury and didn’t return.
The Celtics’ starting center is expected to undergo an MRI on Tuesday to assess the severity of the ailment, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who hears from sources that early indications are that Porzingis didn’t suffer an Achilles injury.
Porzingis initially appeared to start limping with about 3:15 left in the second quarter when he stepped on Tyler Herro‘s ankle (video link). However, he turned his left ankle on that play, and the injury was said to affect his right calf, so it may have been unrelated. Less than a minute later, as he caught a pass from Jaylen Brown, Porzingis began limping again and gestured toward the bench that he needed to be subbed out of the game (Twitter video link).
Porzingis has been relatively healthy for the past two seasons, appearing in 57 regular season games in 2023/24 and 65 a year ago. But he has missed significant time due to health problems in the past, having made just 151 total appearances in the four seasons prior to 2022/23. As such, any injury is a concern, though there have been some signals that this isn’t a significant one.
Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston reported at the start of the second half that Celtics assistant Charles Lee was “cautiously optimistic” that Porzingis would be OK (story via Brian Robb of MassLive). And Porzingis himself tweeted after the win that he “will be good.”
If Porzingis is unable to play in Game 5 on Wednesday, it would mean an increased role for Al Horford, with reserve bigs Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta moving up on the depth chart. As Jared Weiss of The Athletic notes, Boston gave up a pair of second-round picks at February’s trade deadline for Tillman precisely so the team didn’t find itself shorthanded in the frontcourt in a situation like this.
“Luke, Xavier, Neemie, have to kind of be ready to step up and answer the call,” Horford said after the game, per Weiss. “They’ve been doing a good job of that all year. Obviously, it’s the playoffs now, it’s different, but I have confidence in those guys if they need to come in and bring energy and impact the game.”
The Celtics had another injury scare in the fourth quarter of Game 4, as Jayson Tatum turned an ankle when he came down on Bam Adebayo‘s foot while attempting a jump shot after a whistle (Twitter video link). However, Tatum was able to walk it off and finish the game — he’ll presumably be good to go for Game 5.
And-Ones: Media Rights, Awards, Hall Of Fame, Lithuania, More
The NBC is making a strong play for the right to broadcast NBA games beginning in 2025/26, according to Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, and Isabella Simonetti of The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). People familiar with the situation tell the WSJ trio that Comcast’s NBCUniversal is prepared to pay $2.5 billion per year for a package of NBA games.
As we wrote last week, Amazon Prime Video is in strong position to become a broadcast partner for the NBA, with ESPN/ABC (Disney) also making good progress in talks.
After operating with just two partners (ESPN/ABC and TNT) in its current media rights deal, the NBA is looking to expand to at least three partners this time around. If Amazon and NBC were to join the mix with Disney, it could leave TNT (Warner Bros. Discovery) on the outside looking in, though the league reportedly hasn’t ruled out making four separate deals.
As Flint, Sharma, and Simonetti detail, TNT Sports paid about $1.2 billion per year for its NBA rights the previous media rights agreement, which will expire after the 2024/25 season. TNT remains involved in negotiations with the league and will have the right to match NBC’s offer, but would be looking at a substantial increase in cost.
If Comcast is able to reach a deal with the NBA, their package would include both regular season and playoff games on NBC and their streaming service Peacock, according to the WSJ report.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- After revealing its Executive of the Year winner on Tuesday, the NBA has two more minor award announcements on tap this week, per the league (Twitter link) — Teammate of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, with the Hustle Award to follow on Thursday.
- The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame recently announced that its enshrinement ceremony for 2024 has been postponed from August to October, primarily for Olympic-related logistical reasons. Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups are among the headliners of the ’24 class, which was revealed earlier this month.
- Eight years after being told by a Pistons doctor that he wouldn’t be able to play basketball again due to a back injury, Lithuanian big man Donatas Motiejunas remains active in the EuroLeague and has played in 123 consecutive games. In a conversation with Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required), Motiejunas discussed how that incident – which resulted in a voided deadline-day trade – changed the trajectory of his professional career.
- Speaking of Lithuanian big men, Kings center Domantas Sabonis and Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas are both expected to suit up for Lithuania’s national team in their Olympic qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico this summer, according to head coach Kazys Maksvytis. Eurohoops has the story, via a report from Lithuanian outlet 15min.lt.
- With LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry combining for a single playoff win, this spring feels like a passing-of-the-torch moment for the NBA, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Knicks’ Bojan Bogdanovic To Undergo Season-Ending Foot, Wrist Surgeries
3:32pm: The Knicks have confirmed (via Twitter) that Bogdanovic will undergo left foot surgery, announcing that he’ll be reevaluated in three months.
The team’s announcement didn’t mention anything about a procedure on his wrist, though it sounds based on reports as if that will happen as well.
2:52pm: Knicks forward Bojan Bogdanovic has played his last game of the 2024 postseason, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran will undergo surgeries to address two separate injuries affecting his wrist and foot.
A weekend report indicated that Bogdanovic’s left wrist surgery would likely require offseason surgery, but that he was attempting to play through that injury until the Knicks’ season ended. However, he hurt his left foot during Sunday’s Game 4 win and had already been ruled out for Tuesday’s Game 5 as a result of that new ailment.
Bogdanovic’s foot issue had been described as a contusion, though the fact that it will apparently require surgical treatment suggests there’s more to the diagnosis than that. He reportedly has ligament damage in his wrist.
One of the most notable players on the move at the trade deadline, Bogdanovic headed from Detroit to New York along with Alec Burks in exchange for a package headlined by young wing Quentin Grimes. The hope was that the two veterans would provide scoring and shooting off the Knicks’ bench, but their production dipped following the trade.
Bogdanovic’s 43.0% field goal percentage in 29 regular season games as a Knick would have been a career low, and his 37.0% rate on three-pointers was also well below his career average. He made just 7-of-24 shots (29.2%) in a limited role during the first four games of the series vs. Philadelphia.
While Bogdanovic had only been averaging about 13 minutes per contest in the postseason, his injury further diminishes an already thin Knicks frontcourt. Julius Randle is also out for the season, while Mitchell Robinson is considered day-to-day due to an ankle injury.
Bogdanovic and Robinson are two of only nine players that Tom Thibodeau has used so far in the first round, so if they’re both unavailable, the club will need to either identify a new eighth man or try to close out Philadelphia in Game 5 using a seven-man rotation.
Bogdanovic is under contract for next season, but only $2MM of his $19MM salary is guaranteed.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Bronny, Trade Market, Vanderbilt, D-Lo, More
While Darvin Ham‘s future – or lack thereof – with the Lakers figures to be a hot topic this week, what happens this offseason with LeBron James figures to have the more significant impact on the franchise in 2024/25 and beyond.
James is considered likely to play for a couple more seasons, one source briefed on his thinking tells Shams Charania, Jovan Buha, and Sam Amick of The Athletic, so retirement is extremely unlikely. He’ll have a decision to make on a ’24/25 player option worth more than $51MM and both routes – opting in or out – remain on the table, per The Athletic’s reporters, who say the four-time MVP would like to get a sense of how the Lakers’ offseason is playing out before finalizing a decision by the June 29 deadline.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin hears that team officials didn’t have any real sense, as of last week, of what James will do with his contract, but both he and The Athletic’s trio agree that the Lakers want to bring back the star forward. LeBron’s relationship with Lakers ownership is “better than ever,” according to Charania, Buha, and Amick, and the front office would be open to discussing any contract scenario, including the maximum three-year, $164MM deal it can offer, team sources tell The Athletic.
“He’s not the problem here,” a high-ranking team official told The Athletic.
What did James have to say after Monday’s season-ending loss when asked about his contract situation? Not a whole lot, as McMenamin relays.
“I don’t have an answer … to be honest,” James said. “I haven’t given it much thought. … We’ll cross that when we need to.”
Asked if Monday’s loss might have been his last game as a Laker, LeBron replied, “I’m not going to answer that.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Team sources tell Charania, Buha, and Amick that the Lakers are “very open” to the idea of potentially drafting Bronny James to help LeBron fulfill his dream of playing with his son. The Lakers currently hold the No. 55 pick in the 2024 draft — they’ll also have No. 17 if the Pelicans opt to defer the L.A. pick they’re owed until next season.
- The Lakers are expected to be aggressive in the trade market this offseason, per Charania, Buha, and Amick, who reiterate that Hawks guard Trae Young is viewed one of the team’s “many” potential targets. Young’s backcourt mate Dejounte Murray will also be discussed, says Dan Woike of The Los Angles Times.
- As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes, the Lakers will be able to trade up to three first-round picks this summer and have some appealing contracts that they could include in a deal, but there are other teams with larger collections of first-round picks who could potentially outbid L.A. for a star. League sources expect the Jazz and Pelicans to be among those who will be aggressive in trade talks, O’Connor adds.
- Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who had been sidelined since February 1 due to a right foot injury, was available to play in Game 5 on Monday, but he didn’t see any action, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Like teammate Christian Wood, who was available for Games 4 and 5 but didn’t play, Vanderbilt should enter the offseason relatively healthy.
- Speaking on Monday to reporters, including Price (Twitter link), D’Angelo Russell said he hasn’t made a decision yet on his $18.7MM player option for 2024/25, but acknowledged that he has some leverage and indicated he plans to take advantage of it. Despite the Lakers’ disappointing early exit, Russell was proud of his season on a personal level, per McMenamin. “Hell of a year by D’Angelo. Humbly saying that,” he said. “Through the ups and downs, through all the whatever you want to call it, it never bothered me. I always kept myself sane.”
- After joining the Lakers on the buyout market in the second half of the season, L.A. native Spencer Dinwiddie said on Monday that he’d love to return if the team is interested in re-signing him (Twitter link via Buha).
- Elsewhere on the Lakers front, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) previews the team’s offseason decisions, Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times argues that the club needs to do whatever it takes to bring back James, and Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times describes the Lakers as a mediocre team with no clear path back to contender status.