Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 5/25/2023
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11:00 am Central time (12 pm Eastern).
Click here to read the transcript, and join us next Tuesday afternoon for our next live chat, hosted by Dana Gauruder.
Nuggets Notes: Finals Appearance, Murray, Jokic
While the Nuggets were happy to beat the Lakers and earn a spot in the 2023 NBA Finals, the team remains in championship-or-bust mode, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. According to head coach Michael Malone, his squad knows its work isn’t done and won’t be content until it wins four more games.
“To beat this team in the Western Conference Finals, and to get the first sweep in franchise history, it means a lot,” Malone said. “But I speak for 17 players in that locker room and then the entire organization. We are not satisfied. We’re going to enjoy it for a moment, and it’s going to be a hell of a plane ride home. But we have more work to do.”
Regardless of when the Eastern Conference Finals end, the NBA Finals won’t tip off until June 1, so the Nuggets still have a full week to rest up and prepare for their next opponent.
As they await the winner of the Heat/Celtics series, here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Nikola Jokic has earned most of the accolades for the Nuggets this postseason, including unanimous Western Conference Finals MVP honors, but Jamal Murray‘s historic shooting performance in the series vs. the Lakers was a major factor in Denver’s win, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. Murray, the Nuggets’ leading scorer in the series with 32.5 points per game on .527/.405/.950 shooting, joined Kevin Durant as the only players in NBA history to average 30+ PPG with 50/40/90 shooting splits in multiple playoff series — Murray also achieved the feat in the 2020 bubble vs. Utah.
- After moving from the ABA to the NBA in 1976, the Nuggets made the Western Conference Finals in 1978, then repeated that feat in 1985, 2009, and 2020, but never broke through to make the NBA Finals until now. This year’s playoff run has been a salve for 47 years of heartbreak, says Nick Kosmider of The Athletic.
- Within Kosmider’s story, Malone spoke about his first impressions of Jokic after the Nuggets selected the Serbian center 41st overall in the 2015 draft. According to Malone, he viewed Jokic as a “nice player” at the time, but not much more than that. “No one, and if they tell you any different they’re full of s—, could see that he’d be a two-time MVP, passing Wilt Chamberlain (in the record books) it seems like every other night,” Malone said. “It speaks to his dedication to his craft, getting in great shape and understanding that for him to fulfill his potential, he had to work harder.”
- Following the Lakers’ Game 4 loss, LeBron James said this Nuggets squad is the best team he has faced in any postseason series since he arrived in Los Angeles in 2018 (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
Coaching Rumors: Williams, Pistons, Young, Bucks, Griffin, Mazzulla
After reporting last week that the Pistons had planned to pursue Monty Williams for their head coaching job if they’d won the draft lottery, Marc Stein writes at Substack that Detroit apparently went ahead with that plan even after slipping to No. 5 on lottery night.
League sources tell Stein that the Pistons made Williams a “big-money” offer to become the team’s new head coach. However, it appears that effort was unsuccessful. As we noted on Tuesday in response to a report that Williams might take the 2023/24 season off, he’s still reportedly owed about $21MM from Phoenix, so it’s not as if he needs another job anytime soon for financial reasons.
With Williams apparently not in play, the Pistons continue to decide between Kevin Ollie, Charles Lee, and Jarron Collins, who are reportedly meeting with team owner Tom Gores for a second time. As Stein writes, the “consistent buzz” in coaching circles is that general manager Troy Weaver prefers Ollie for the position.
Here’s more from Stein on the head coaching vacancies around the NBA:
- While he lacks the head coaching experience that some of the Suns‘ other finalists possess, assistant coach Kevin Young has a legitimate chance to be promoted to succeed Williams, according to Stein, who hears that Young has received a “strong endorsement” from All-Star guard Devin Booker.
- Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is expected to talk to the team’s head coaching finalists, is said to be “intrigued” by Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, Stein writes. Griffin is one of three candidates believed to be in the running for the job.
- Even before the Celtics won Game 4 of their series vs. Miami on Tuesday, there was push-back against the idea that Joe Mazzulla‘s job as head coach was in real jeopardy, says Stein. While Stein isn’t entirely ruling out the idea that Mazzulla could be replaced this spring, he suggests it would conflict with what we know about president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and how he operates.
Southwest Notes: Morant, Mavs, Rockets, Beverley
Following a series of cryptic social media posts from Ja Morant, police in Tennessee visited the home of the Grizzlies star to check on him, a spokesperson for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office tells TMZ Sports.
Morant had published Instagram stories telling his mother, father, and daughter that he loved them, followed by one that was simply captioned, “Bye.” He deleted them a short time later.
The police spokesperson tells TMZ Sports that Morant is “fine” and that he told the officers who came to his home that he’s simply taking a break from social media.
Morant has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities by the Grizzlies after an Instagram Live video appeared to show him brandishing a gun. The NBA’s investigation into that video is ongoing — given that Morant was suspended during the season for a similar incident, there’s an expectation that he’ll be facing another suspension at the start of the 2023/24 season.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Tim Cato of The Athletic breaks down some reasons why the Mavericks should trade the No. 10 overall pick and some reasons why they’ll consider keeping it. In Cato’s view, Dallas is more likely to move the pick than to hang onto it, but it remains to be seen how valuable a trade asset it will be — there may be some higher lottery picks available on the trade market, and the first- and second-tier prospects in this year’s draft class will likely be gone by No. 10.
- While much of the focus in Houston is on the No. 4 overall pick, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) notes that the Rockets also control the No. 20 selection and considers which prospects could be on the team’s radar at that spot. Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino and Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh are among the prospects in that range who get a look from Feigen.
- Asked on his podcast about the possibility of reuniting with James Harden in Houston, where he spent five seasons earlier in his NBA career, free-agent-to-be Patrick Beverley expressed enthusiasm about the idea of joining the Rockets and called Ime Udoka a “great” coach (Twitter video link via Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston).
2023 NBA Offseason Preview: Brooklyn Nets
When the Nets landed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency in 2019, it represented a major step in the club’s transition from plucky upstart to star-studded super-team, a transformation that was completed with the 2021 acquisition of James Harden.
Two years after landing Harden, Brooklyn is out of the super-team business, having traded away Harden in 2022 and Durant and Irving in 2023. The new-look Nets bear some resemblance to the pre-2019 squad — there are a lot of promising pieces on the roster, but little star power, so the upside is limited.
Among Brooklyn’s current players, there are two obvious ceiling raisers whose next steps could go a long way to determining the club’s trajectory. Mikal Bridges, acquired from Phoenix in February’s Durant blockbuster, averaged 26.1 points per game after joining the Nets and has an All-Defensive nod on his résumé. If anyone on the roster is going to be an All-Star next season, it will likely be Bridges.
Of course, the only player on the roster who has already been an All-Star – three times, in fact – is former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons, who had a forgettable first full season in Brooklyn. Physical and mental issues, along with an aversion to shooting, have hampered Simmons’ development, but he was one of the NBA’s best passers and defenders while earning three consecutive All-Star berths from 2019-21. The hope is that there’s still some bounce-back potential in 2023/24, when he’ll be another year removed from 2022 back surgery.
Even if Bridges continues to establish himself as a franchise cornerstone and Simmons looks more like his old self next season, the Nets won’t be a legitimate championship contender like they were when Durant, Irving, and Harden played for the team.
But there are solid building blocks in place here, and the vibes in Brooklyn this offseason should be a little more positive than they were a year ago, when Durant asked team ownership to either move him or fire GM Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash, while Irving spent weeks flirting with the idea of leaving the Nets in free agency or via trade.
The Nets’ Offseason Plan:
Re-signing Cameron Johnson in restricted free agency will likely be the Nets’ top priority this offseason. Bridges was the centerpiece of the Durant trade, and some of the future unprotected first-round picks in that deal could become future gems, but Johnson shouldn’t be overlooked as a crucial part of Brooklyn’s return from the Suns. He’s already one of the NBA’s best outside shooters, making 41.6% of 6.0 three-pointers per game over the last two seasons, and he’s not a liability on the defensive end.
Johnson won’t come cheap, but the knee injury that cost him half the 2022/23 season may help keep his price in check, especially if none of the teams with cap room this summer make a serious push for him. Even though Johnson isn’t the two-way dynamo that Bridges is, the Nets should be happy if they can lock up Johnson to a contract identical to Bridges’ rookie scale extension (four years, $90MM). It should age well as the salary cap continues to grow in the coming years.
If the Nets commit to paying Johnson approximately $20MM in 2023/24 and guarantee the remainder of Royce O’Neale‘s $9.5MM salary (which is a lock), their team salary will exceed the projected luxury tax line.
Nets owner Joe Tsai has shown in recent years that he’s willing to spend big, but he’ll be less inclined to pay the tax for this roster than he was for the version headed by Durant, Irving, and Harden, especially with more punitive penalties for taxpaying teams coming in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Simmons, whose $37.9MM salary will be the largest on the payroll by a wide margin, is Brooklyn’s most obvious trade candidate, but moving him this offseason probably isn’t the right play. His value has cratered, so the Nets would be selling low and would almost certainly have to attach draft picks and/or a more valuable player to get anything useful in return for him. Hanging onto Simmons and hoping that he’s healthier and more productive next season is the more prudent path.
In all likelihood, at least one of Brooklyn’s veteran wings will be on the move. Joe Harris ($19.9MM), Dorian Finney-Smith ($13.9MM), and O’Neale ($9.5MM) are part of that group. Of those three, Harris is the most expensive and the weakest defender, so he’ll likely find himself on the trade block. But the Nets would get more in return for Finney-Smith or O’Neale, and losing Harris’ shooting and floor spacing could hurt, with Seth Curry headed for free agency.
In theory, the Nets would like to add more scoring and play-making, as well as more size and rebounding up front, but it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to address those needs directly in a trade involving one or more of their wings. The front office will likely explore many possibilities on the trade market, including three-way frameworks or scenarios in which they flip assets from one trade partner to another in separate deals.
A cost-cutting Brooklyn team with quality rotation players available would, for instance, be a logical trade partner for a Houston club that has cap space and is eager to be more competitive in 2023/24. Perhaps the Nets could dangle O’Neale in an effort to recoup one of the first-round picks they previously traded to the Rockets, then turn around and package a draft pick or two with another player (such as Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, or Patty Mills) in an effort to better balance their roster.
While free agency is another path Brooklyn could look at as it seeks roster upgrades, the team will be well over the cap, and its ability to use its mid-level exception will be compromised as long as its salary remains above or near the tax line. I’d expect the Nets to push to re-sign Johnson and explore what it would take to bring back Curry (especially if Harris is traded), but I wouldn’t count on an impact signing of an outside free agent.
There may be some advocates for the Nets, having traded Durant and Irving earlier this year, to take another step toward a full rebuild by moving more veterans and perhaps securing a huge package of picks and prospects for Bridges. But Brooklyn doesn’t control its own first-round pick for any of the four years from 2024-27 — the Rockets will receive the Nets’ unprotected pick in 2024 and 2026 and have swap rights in ’25 and ’27. So there’s little incentive for the franchise to bottom out.
Instead, I’d expect general manager Sean Marks to focus on making a few tweaks to the roster this offseason, then to prepare for more significant changes in 2024 when several contracts (including Dinwiddie, Harris, O’Neale, and Mills) will come off the books.
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
Ben Simmons ($37,893,408)- Mikal Bridges ($21,700,000)
- Spencer Dinwiddie ($20,357,143)
- Joe Harris ($19,928,571)
- Dorian Finney-Smith ($13,932,008)
- Nic Claxton ($9,625,000)
- Patty Mills ($6,802,950)
- Royce O’Neale ($2,500,000)
- Note: Partial guarantee. Rest of salary noted below.
- Cam Thomas ($2,240,160)
- Day’Ron Sharpe ($2,210,040)
- RaiQuan Gray (two-way)
- Total: $137,189,280
Dead/Retained Salary
- None
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Royce O’Neale ($7,000,000)
- Note: Partial guarantee. O’Neale’s salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 10.
- Edmond Sumner ($2,239,943)
- Note: Sumner’s salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 6.
- Total: $9,239,943
Restricted Free Agents
- Cameron Johnson ($8,486,620 qualifying offer / $17,663,697 cap hold): Bird rights
- David Duke ($2,189,698 qualifying offer / $2,189,698 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $19,853,395
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 21 overall ($3,043,560)
- No. 22 overall (2,922,000)
- No. 51 overall (no cap hold)
- Total: $5,965,560
Extension-Eligible Players
- Seth Curry (veteran)
- Spencer Dinwiddie (veteran)
- Joe Harris (veteran)
- Royce O’Neale (veteran)
- Ben Simmons (veteran)
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2023/24 season begins. Curry is only eligible until June 30.
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Seth Curry ($16,143,641 cap hold): Bird rights
- Nikola Milutinov ($2,499,480 cap hold)
- Note: Milutinov, the 26th overall pick in the 2015 draft, has yet to sign an NBA contract. If the Nets don’t intend to sign him in 2023/24, they’ll remove his cap hold from their books for the season.
- Yuta Watanabe ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- LaMarcus Aldridge ($1,989,698 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Wilson Chandler ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Mike James ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $26,601,913
Note: The cap holds for Aldridge, Chandler, and James remain on the Nets’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $12,220,600
- Bi-annual exception: $4,448,000
- Trade exception: $18,131,946
- Trade exception: $4,494,702
- Trade exception: $1,836,090
- Trade exception: $1,836,090
- Trade exception: $1,637,966
Note: The Nets would lose access to the full mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception if their team salary surpasses the tax apron.
Draft Notes: Combine, D. Jones, O. Moore, McCullar, Phelps
NBA teams and evaluators were a little underwhelmed by last week’s draft combine in Chicago, per Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link). A total of 37 prospects opted not to take part in scrimmages, which resulted in some “watered-down” games, Woo writes, noting that executives felt the level of competition was lower than in most recent years.
The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will introduce guidelines that require top prospects to attend and participate in more aspects of the annual combine, but they still won’t be compelled to play in scrimmages. It remains unclear just how much the new CBA will require of prospects — Woo says it’s hard to imagine the league forcing a top-10 prospect to go through combine drills.
For what it’s worth, while Sam Vecenie of The Athletic believes the scrimmages matter and was “dumbfounded” by the fact that certain players opted out of them, he says that medical evaluations and in-person interviews are the aspects of the combine that NBA teams care about the most.
Here’s more on the 2023 NBA draft:
- Dillon Jones was the big winner of the G League Elite Camp earlier this month, according to Vecenie, who says the Weber State wing has gone from an afterthought to a prospect who has a very real chance to be a second-round pick.
- San Jose State forward Omari Moore will keep his name in the draft rather than take advantage of his final year of NCAA eligibility, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The No. 69 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Moore isn’t a lock to be drafted, but is highly regarded enough that he could get an opportunity to make an NBA roster, perhaps on a two-way contract.
- Kansas guard Kevin McCullar, who ranks right behind Moore on ESPN’s board at No. 70, will use his final year of college eligibility, having decided to withdraw from the draft and return to the Jayhawks for his “super-senior” season, according to a press release from the school. He’ll be automatically draft-eligible in 2024.
- SMU guard Zhuric Phelps will return to school for his junior year, as Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News writes. Phelps announced in April that he would test the draft waters, but didn’t show up on the NBA’s official early entrant list last month, so there was some confusion about whether or not he actually declared. Either way, he won’t be draft-eligible in 2023.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, J. Brown, Sixers, Nurse, Raptors
There’s a good chance that the Nets, who have a surplus of wings, will trade at least one of their veterans this offseason, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Brooklyn stocked up on two-way wings at the trade deadline, acquiring Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Dorian Finney-Smith in deals with Phoenix and Dallas.
Bridges looks like a player the Nets will build around, and while Johnson will reach free agency this summer, Brooklyn can control that process since he’ll be a restricted free agent. In Lewis’ view, that leaves Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale as the two wings most likely to be on the trade block this offseason. For his part, Finney-Smith is very aware that more changes could be coming to the Nets’ roster in the coming months.
“Everybody here knows what’s going on, we know the pieces we have and you just never know in this league,” he said. “So I guess we’re going to see after the draft. See what’s going on and go from there.”
According to Lewis, while there’s a belief that the Nets could move one of their three-and-D wings to try to balance their roster, people around the NBA also think the club may trade one of its first-round picks in order to add scoring and/or rebounding. Brooklyn currently controls two consecutive first-rounders at No. 21 and No. 22 in this year’s draft.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- If the Celtics were to make Jaylen Brown available this offseason, there would be “robust demand” from “a lot” of teams around the league, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on The Lowe podcast prior to Boston’s Game 4 victory (hat tip to RealGM). Although Brown has struggled in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Miami, it’s obviously not groundbreaking news that a 26-year-old All-NBA wing would be popular on the trade market. Brown, who has one year left on his contract, will be super-max eligible this offseason, but wouldn’t be able to sign a super-max deal if he’s traded.
- Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes that Nick Nurse should be atop the Sixers‘ wish list as they seek a new head coach, arguing that the team would benefit from Nurse’s outside-the-box thinking. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Nurse will have interviewed with the Sixers, Bucks, and Suns by week’s end and is believed to be at or near the top of the list for all three jobs. If Nurse is their top choice, the 76ers may need to accelerate their search process in order to avoid losing him to Milwaukee or Phoenix, observes Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.
- A perfect offseason for the Raptors would see the team hire Monty Williams as its head coach and trade Pascal Siakam to Portland in a package headlined by Anfernee Simons and this year’s No. 3 pick, Eric Koreen of The Athletic contends. In his proposed scenario, Koreen also envisions Toronto drafting Scoot Henderson, re-signing Jakob Poeltl, letting Gary Trent Jr. walk, signing-and-trading Fred VanVleet to Chicago, using the mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, and flipping Simons to Memphis in a deal for Tyus Jones and Luke Kennard.
Central Notes: Bucks’ Coaching Search, Pacers, Cheaney, Cavs
While Nick Nurse, Kenny Atkinson, and Adrian Griffin are the only finalists that have been reported so far in the Bucks‘ head coaching search, Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears from a source that the team could still expand that list of finalists.
For now though, Milwaukee seems to be deciding between Nurse, Atkinson, and Griffin, prompting Eric Nehm of The Athletic to consider why each coaching candidate may – or may not – be a fit for the franchise.
A league source who spoke to Owczarski (subscription required) got the sense that Bucks general manager Jon Horst prefers a coach with “a bit of edge” in terms of style. That could be a point in favor of Nurse, who gained a reputation for experimenting with unorthodox defensive styles when he took over as the head coach in Toronto. As Nehm observes, Nurse also won a championship in his first year as a head coach, a feat the Bucks are hoping their next coach will be able to replicate.
The second round of interviews for the Bucks is expected to include dialogue with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Marc Stein writes at Substack. Horst told reporters earlier this month that he expected to get input from Antetokounmpo during the team’s coaching search.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Pacers assistant Calbert Cheaney is leaving Rick Carlisle‘s staff to return to his alma mater and become the director of player development at Indiana University under Mike Woodson. Carlisle and the Pacers put out a statement thanking Cheaney for his contributions and wishing him well in his new job. The team also announced that Isaac Yacob is being promoted from head video coordinator to a player development role.
- The Pacers, armed with five picks in this year’s draft, will almost certainly trade one or more of them, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). With the picks they keep, the Pacers won’t be overly focused on positional fit, but likely won’t select anyone who will be a defensive liability, Dopirak adds.
- Kelsey Russo of The Athletic considers a few options for the Cavaliers‘ pick at No. 49, identifying Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Illinois wing Terrence Shannon, and Eastern Michigan wing Emoni Bates as possible targets. Prosper, who had a strong showing at least week’s combine, may not still be available by the time Cleveland picks — he ranks No. 32 on ESPN’s big board.
Latest On Suns’ Head Coaching Search
There are conflicting accounts on exactly where things stand in the Suns‘ head coaching search.
On Tuesday evening, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN both reported that Phoenix was advancing a handful of candidates to the final stage of the process, but the names the two reporters identified didn’t match up.
Charania and Wojnarowski agreed that Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Kevin Young, and Jordi Fernandez are among the Suns’ finalists, but Charania added Frank Vogel to that list, while Woj said there were only four remaining candidates.
In a story published late on Tuesday, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic came down on Charania’s side, citing sources who say that the Suns have five finalists, with Vogel still in the mix.
However, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report has pushed back on that entire series of reports, tweeting overnight that Phoenix has actually yet to reach the final stage of its interview process. According to Haynes, the team is still expected to meet with Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee and Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
It’s odd that the NBA’s top two news-breakers and a plugged-in local beat writer would each separately report that the Suns are entering the final stage of their head coaching search process if the club still has interviews on tap with additional candidates. Perhaps Phoenix could expand its list of finalists to include Lee and/or Atkinson — based on the reports from Charania, Wojnarowski, and Rankin, I wouldn’t consider either of them a frontrunner at this point, but it sounds like they shouldn’t be entirely ruled out either.
The Suns are seeking a replacement for Monty Williams, who was let go after four seasons with the franchise despite compiling a 194-115 regular season record, leading Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals, and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2022.
Initial reporting following Williams’ dismissal indicated that Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue may be atop Phoenix’s wish list. Lue’s name hasn’t come up at all in recent days, which likely suggests that the Suns are resigned to the fact that he’ll be staying in Los Angeles.
Heat Notes: Butler, Adebayo, Spoelstra, Herro
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are the Heat‘s leading scorers in the postseason, but their ability to get their teammates involved and make sure Miami’s role players stay aggressive has been crucial to the team’s playoff success, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
While Butler and Adebayo have combined to average 48 points per game in the playoffs, Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin, Max Strus, Kyle Lowry, and Duncan Robinson have exceeded that figure as a group, averaging a total of 55 points per contest.
“They could easily take every shot they wanted to now, with guys down, guys like Tyler (Herro) that are out,” Martin said of the Heat’s stars. “That just shows the belief they have in us. And asking where the confidence comes from, a lot of it stems from those two guys, just believing in us and getting us open looks and believing we’ll knock them down, whether we make or miss, continue to make the right plays.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- The NBA announced in a brief press release on Tuesday afternoon that Butler has been fined $25K for violating league rules related to media interview access. Butler didn’t take part in his required post-game media availability following Game 3 on Sunday.
- Head coach Erik Spoelstra may prefer to give his players the credit for Miami’s deep playoff run, but he deserves major recognition for the part he has played, William Guillory writes for The Athletic. “I can’t say I’ve been coached by somebody who moves like him,” Heat forward Kevin Love said. “He’s so committed to every facet. There’s no detail left unturned. His attention to detail is there, and he’s not a micromanager at all. He lets us play free. He lets us do our thing and allows us to be unapologetically ourselves.”
- Heat guard Tyler Herro was cleared to resume non-contact basketball activities on Tuesday as he continues to make his way back from a broken right hand, according to Chiang of The Miami Herald. When Herro underwent surgery on April 21, the team announced he would miss at least six weeks — the six-week mark would be on June 2, while the NBA Finals will tip off on June 1. Still, while the possibility of Herro returning in the Finals hasn’t been ruled out, it’s not necessarily considered likely, Chiang says.