Atlantic Notes: Harden, Embiid, Celtics, D. Rose
Since arriving in Philadelphia at the 2022 trade deadline, James Harden has accepted a reduced offensive role, playing second fiddle to Joel Embiid. Harden’s 25.0% usage rate in 79 regular season games since joining the Sixers is his lowest mark since his last year in Oklahoma City in 2011/12.
With Embiid sidelined for Game 1 of the Sixers’ second-round series vs. Boston, however, Harden turned in a vintage performance, matching his career playoff high with 45 points on 17-of-30 shooting in a narrow upset victory. While the scoring outburst may have surprised many observers, Harden suggested in his postgame comments that it was simply a matter of adjusting his mindset on offense.
“My coaches, my teammates, what they expect me to do all throughout the course of the year was be a facilitator and get Joel the basketball and score when necessary. Joel wasn’t here tonight, you know what I mean?” Harden said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “…Now it’s like, ‘All right, open the floor. James, you be aggressive.’ And tonight, I was aggressive. So, it’s not that I’m not capable of doing it, it just … this is my role for this team. Now, if you want me to do (what I did) tonight, then I can do that as well.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Joel Embiid worked out on Tuesday afternoon, but Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said there’s “no change in his status” yet, Bontemps writes for ESPN.com. Previous reporting suggested there was optimism about Embiid’s ability to return from his knee injury for Game 2. While Rivers didn’t confirm that, he did say that Philadelphia’s Game 1 win won’t make the team any less willing to bring back the star center for Game 2. “It’s just health-based,” Rivers said. “If he can play, he plays. If he can’t, he can’t. And if it’s 50-50, we would probably err on (the side of sitting him), because we’ve done that all year.”
- Following the Celtics‘ disappointing Game 1 loss, Al Horford told reporters that the team lacked defensive urgency and that he believes Embiid’s absence contributed to that, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon hypothesized that other Sixers players felt “empowered” with Embiid unavailable. “Everybody else has the green light and guys are gonna step up, and I thought that’s what happened tonight,” Brogdon said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I think we expected that, guys to step up, but we still struggled with it. We just gotta be prepared.”
- Even though he believes he still has “a lot left in the tank,” Knicks guard Derrick Rose has embraced his role as a veteran mentor who’s not part of the rotation, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “I’m fully invested in everything to be here. And if I (wasn’t), I wouldn’t be on the team,” Rose said. “… I’m thankful that they didn’t trade me or buy me out or waive me. I’m happy I have some type of value.”
Heat Notes: Love, Lowry, Roster, Oladipo
While Kevin Love admits that he thought he was a “collision course” with his old team in the second round of the playoffs, he didn’t derive any extra pleasure from seeing the Cavaliers sent home while his Heat advanced, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. As Love explains, he holds no ill will toward the Cavs — he sought a buyout simply because he wanted to have the sort of role that he no longer had in Cleveland.
“I think more than anything I just wanted to I want to be a part of it,” he said. “I wanted to be out there. I felt like I could be productive and help win more than just being a great vet and then helping those guys along. Because I still love those guys. I’m still on the group chat with them. But definitely know I have a lot more to give and just wanted to play.”
Love gave up a little money to secure his release from the fourth-seeded Cavs and confirms he considered joining the third-seeded Sixers before signing with the Heat, who ultimately claimed the No. 8 spot in the East. The move down the standings was somewhat unusual for a veteran on the buyout market, but Miami’s postseason success so far has vindicated Love’s decision.
“You always talk about culture, but until you get here, it’s pretty eye-opening that its level of professionalism is not really rivaled anywhere else,” Love said of the Heat. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Both Love (nine points, five rebounds, four assists) and veteran point guard Kyle Lowry (18 points, six assists, four blocks) turned back the clock with their performances in Miami’s Game 1 win over New York, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lowry’s two years in Miami have been up and down – he has missed significant time due to injuries and personal matters – but his teammates believe in his ability to come up big in the postseason. “(Lowry) is a winner. He’s our leader, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench,” Jimmy Butler said on Sunday. “He’s a champion, and he’s been doing a great job for us all year long and since he’s been here. He’s one of the engines that helps us go, and we’re going to ride that wave.”
- As the Heat look to become the second ever No. 8 seed to make it to the conference finals, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald explores whether the team’s roster was built specifically for playoff success.
- With Victor Oladipo‘s availability for next season up in the air as a result of his left knee injury, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald wonders whether waiving and stretching Oladipo’s 2023/24 salary ($9.45MM, assuming he exercises his player option) will be something the Heat seriously consider this summer.
Northwest Notes: Jokic, KCP, Jazz, Messina, Towns
While most NBA fans look forward to Tuesday evening’s announcement of the 2022/23 Most Valuable Player, Nuggets star and MVP finalist Nikola Jokic claims he’s not exactly waiting on that news with bated breath. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, Following a huge Game 2 on Monday (39 points, 16 rebounds), Jokic said that, weather permitting, he’d like to be “in the swimming pool” when the NBA reveals this season’s MVP.
“I don’t really think about it,” Jokic said. “Like zero interest.”
Jokic has certainly had the most impressive postseason of the three finalists, given that Joel Embiid has missed two of five Sixers games due to a knee injury and Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s Bucks were upset by the eighth-seeded Heat in round one.
Of course, MVP voting was completed before the playoffs began, but teammate Jamal Murray and head coach Michael Malone pointed to Jokic’s Game 2 performance as a perfect example of why he has won two MVP awards and deserves a third. According to Youngmisuk, Malone said on Monday that if Jokic doesn’t win this year’s award, he intends to tell the star center that he’s “he’s the MVP in my eyes.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s big night on Monday (41 minutes played, 4-of-4 on three-pointers) served as reminders of why the Nuggets wanted him so badly last summer and how instrumental he has been to the team’s success this season, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required). “KCP does everything for us,” Denver guard Bruce Brown said. “Me and him kind of in the same role. … He’s the only champion in here, so I learn as much as I can from him.”
- The Jazz‘s coaching staff is said to be undergoing offseason changes, and former Spurs assistant Ettore Messina – who worked alongside Will Hardy in San Antonio from 2015-19 and is now a head coach in Italy – was recently identified by Sportando as a possible target. Asked by Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune about the rumor, Messina neither confirmed nor outright denied it. “Eric, I do not have much for you,” he told Walden in a text message. “I am enjoying what I’m doing with (Olimpia) Milano.”
- Should the Timberwolves seriously consider the idea of trading Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason? Chris Hine of The Star Tribune explores that question in detail, discussing why it might make sense while also presenting the arguments against such a deal.
Grizzlies Won’t Re-Sign Dillon Brooks
The Grizzlies told veteran forward Dillon Brooks this week that he won’t be brought back for next season “under any circumstances,” league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Brooks is in the final year of his current contract, so he’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Although Memphis holds his Bird rights, which give the club the ability to re-sign him without requiring cap room, team officials informed Brooks of their decision during exit meetings. The two sides agreed that it would be best for both to have a fresh start, Charania writes.
Brooks, 27, is considered a strong perimeter defender, but has become an increasingly erratic shooter, making a career-worst 39.6% of his field goal attempts in 2022/23. His three-point percentage dipped to 32.1% on 5.6 attempts per game during the last two seasons after he converted 35.3% of 4.5 threes per game in his first four seasons, all with the Grizzlies.
On top of his offensive struggles, Brooks’ outsized personality and aggressive playing style have gotten him into trouble both on and off the court. He received three one-game suspensions this season, once for an on-court altercation with Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell and twice for accumulating so many technical fouls.
Brooks’ performance during the Grizzlies’ first-round loss to the Lakers was considered to be a breaking point, according to Charania. Brooks referred to Lakers star LeBron James as “old” following Memphis’ Game 2 win, suggesting the NBA’s all-time leading scorer was well past his prime.
He was then ejected from Game 3 for hitting James in the groin, surrendered a pair of key baskets to LeBron in a Game 4 loss, and was eventually fined $25K for declining to speak to reporters after three games of the series (all losses). Offensively, Brooks shot just 31.2% from the field and 23.8% on three-pointers across six playoff games.
Memphis made contract extension offers to Brooks earlier in the 2022/23 league year, but they were turned down, which resulted in those discussions being shelved, Charania writes. The 27-year-old will now enter the open market after making $11.4MM this past season.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, will have to find a way to replace Brooks’ presence on defense, which won’t necessarily be easy. They’ll presumably be seeking a player who can approximate Brooks’ defensive impact and make three-pointers at least at a league-average rate while creating fewer headlines and providing less bulletin-board material when speaking to reporters.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Barnes, Kings, Pelinka
With Portland poised to establish a G League team in time for the 2023/24 season, just one NBA club will enter this fall without an NBAGL affiliate of its own. The Suns previously controlled the Northern Arizona Suns, but sold that G League franchise in 2020 to the Pistons, who relocated and rebranded it as the Motor City Cruise.
While the sale of that G League team was viewed as a cost-cutting move under former Suns owner Robert Sarver, new owner Mat Ishbia has shown more of a willingness to spend since taking control of the franchise earlier this year. And in a conversation with Shlomo Sprung of Boardroom.TV, Ishbia made it clear that it’s just a matter of time until the Suns reestablish a G League presence.
“One hundred percent I will have a G League team,” Ishbia said. “We were trying to get it done for this upcoming season, but it looks like the timing of it will be for the following season. We’re doing that as soon as we can. I’m trying to get it ready for next season, I just don’t think it’s going to work with getting the location and everything set up. But we are 100% going to have a G League team here in Phoenix, and it’s going to be in the local community, not seven states away.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Whether or not Chris Paul is available to return for Game 3, the Suns will need more from several other players – starting with Kevin Durant – if they hope to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Denver in the Western Conference Semifinals, says Doug Haller of The Athletic.
- Given that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, there’s no guarantee Harrison Barnes will remain with the Kings in 2023/24 and beyond. However, the veteran forward expressed interest in sticking with the team, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). “We’ve all been around and we know it’s a business … but to continue with this group, I think that would be a special thing,” Barnes said.
- Even though the Kings‘ first playoff appearance since 2006 ended with a first-round exit, the season should still be considered a success, writes Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee. As Lillis outlines, the Kings had to deal with the threat of relocation in 2013, but a decade later, the organization’s future looks bright both on and off the court.
- Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group praises the job Rob Pelinka did this season to turn the Lakers‘ ill-fitting roster into a group capable of legitimate contention, without giving up any unprotected first-round picks to do so.
And-Ones: Grant, Abu Dhabi, Regular Season, Adaway
Veteran point guard Jerian Grant, who appeared in 279 NBA games from 2016-20, has been named the MVP of the 2022/23 EuroCup, the league announced in a press release. Like the EuroLeague, the EuroCup brings together several of the top teams from various leagues in Europe. Grant’s current club, Turk Telekom, is among the competitors.
In 18 regular season EuroCup games, Grant averaged 14.6 points per game on 57.1% shooting and also contributed 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest. He helped lead Turk Telekom to a 13-5 record and a deep playoff run — the Turkish team will square off against Gran Canaria in Wednesday’s EuroCup final.
Grant, the older brother of Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, was the 19th overall pick in the 2015 draft and played for the Knicks, Bulls, Magic, and Wizards during five NBA seasons. He put up modest averages of 6.1 PPG and 2.9 APG during his time in the NBA, but perhaps his strong showing overseas will earn him another shot stateside.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The NBA has confirmed in a press release that the Mavericks and Timberwolves will take part in a pair of preseason games at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi this fall. The contests will be played on October 5 and 7.
- It has already been an unusual postseason in 2023, which has become the first year in which a No. 7 seed (the Lakers) and No. 8 seed (the Heat) both advanced to the second round. Additionally, a No. 6 team (the Warriors) won a series for just the second time since 2016. Given the strength of the lower-seeded clubs in this year’s playoffs, John Hollinger of The Athletic explores the apparent decline in the regular season’s meaningfulness, considering why it’s happening and whether it will continue.
- Former St. Bonaventure guard Jalen Adaway, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio last summer and played for the Austin Spurs in 2022/23, has been dismissed and disqualified from the NBA G League for a violation of the league’s anti-drug program, per a press release. He’ll be eligible to apply for reinstatement in one year.
Chris Paul’s Status Uncertain Following Groin Injury
Suns point guard Chris Paul exited Monday’s Game 2 loss to the Nuggets in the second half due to left groin tightness and didn’t return, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. It’s unclear whether the future Hall of Famer will miss additional time or if he’ll be able to return for Game 3 in Phoenix on Friday with his team facing a 2-0 deficit.
The injury appeared to occur with just under five minutes left in the third quarter when Paul attempted to box out Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and grabbed at his left groin afterward (NBA.com video link). Paul, who checked out a couple possessions later, didn’t speak to reporters after the game, but head coach Monty Williams said the veteran “couldn’t push off” his injured leg, according to MacMahon.
“We’re not quite sure what it is right now, but it seems to be something in the groin area,” Williams said. “We’ll find out more (on Tuesday).”
“All we can do is hope he has a speedy recovery,” Paul’s backcourt partner Devin Booker said during his postgame media session. “We’re going to be behind him. We’re going to hold it down while he is out — or if he’s out — and just take it from there.”
Backup point guard Cameron Payne, who was dealing with a lower back injury when the postseason began, played nearly 17 minutes on Tuesday after logging just eight minutes in the Suns’ first six playoff games. As long as he remains healthy, Payne figures to take on a larger role if Paul has to miss any time.
As Doug Haller of The Athletic observes, Phoenix may also have to lean even more on Booker to initiate the offense if CP3 is unavailable, though Williams is wary of asking Booker to do more than he already has.
“I think it’s a lot,” the Suns’ head coach said after Booker played nearly 45 minutes on Tuesday. “He was probably more tired than he would admit, but with Chris off the floor, it puts a lot of pressure on him. So I got to figure that out.”
Paul has a history of bad injury luck in the postseason. As MacMahon details, the 37-year-old has missed eight career playoff games due to health issues. Paul’s most memorable absence occurred in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, when a hamstring strain cost him the final two games of the Rockets’ 4-3 loss to Golden State.
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Raptors Notes: P. Mutombo, Stackhouse, Nurse, Offseason
Reporting in the wake of Nick Nurse‘s dismissal on Friday indicated that Ime Udoka would be one of the candidates the Raptors seriously consider to become their next head coach. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms Toronto’s interest in Udoka and adds a couple more names to the team’s possible list of targets, writing that Patrick Mutombo and Jerry Stackhouse may receive consideration.
Mutombo, currently an assistant on Monty Williams‘ staff in Phoenix, was on the Raptors’ coaching staff from 2016-20 and coached the team’s G League affiliate (Raptors 905) from 2020-22 before joining the Suns last offseason.
Stackhouse also has an existing relationship with the Raptors, having been an assistant with the team in 2015/16 and the Raptors 905 head coach from 2016-18. He spent a season as an assistant coach with the Grizzlies in 2018/19 and has been the head coach at Vanderbilt since 2019. Stackhouse has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Pistons’ head coaching vacancy, though there has been no indication that he’ll interview for that position.
Here’s more on the Raptors and their newly opened head coaching job:
- Some people in the Raptors organization were surprised by Friday’s news on Nurse, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, who says Nurse and team president Masai Ujiri met four teams in the nine days after Toronto’s season ended. That level of communication is unusual for a team about to let go of a head coach, but Ujiri felt the Raptors needed a new voice and Nurse “welcomed the change,” says Lewenberg.
- Raptors management had some questions about Nurse’s style of communication, Lewenberg writes, noting that the head coach had a habit of calling out players publicly without talking to them privately first. Following a bad loss in December, Nurse held closed-door meetings with some players and staffers that Lewenberg hears were “intense” and “confrontational.” Nurse also had a “tense” relationship with one assistant coach after telling him not to accompany the team on a road trip in January, Lewenberg adds.
- Observing that several Raptors players improved individually, but not collectively, Ujiri said on Friday that he expects to make changes in Toronto this offseason beyond hiring a new coach, per Lewenberg. “I think changes are going to be made on all fronts,” Ujiri said. “We’re going to address that with the team. We saw how different players on our team would rise, would do well, but we never did it collectively. Maybe that could be fit. Maybe that could be system, sometimes role orientation, sometimes accountability – all the things we are going to really look at it how our roster is built. We believe in the players we have. Whether it’s tweaks or major changes, we’re definitely going to look at everything.”
Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2023
When the NBA’s 2023/24 league year begins this summer, players eligible for free agency will be able to begin negotiating and reaching contract agreements with suitors. In addition to those free agents, another group of players will also become eligible to sign new deals.
For players who are entering the fourth and final year of their rookie scale contracts, the first day of the new league year (July 1) is the first day they can agree to rookie scale extensions. Those players, who were almost all 2020 first-round selections, will have until the day before the 2023/24 regular season starts to finalize long-term agreements with their current teams.
Players eligible for rookie scale extensions can sign new deals that run for up to five years, with those contracts taking effect beginning in 2024/25. If they don’t sign extensions during the coming offseason, those players will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.
Eleven players who were eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2022 offseason signed new deals. That number tied a record set a year earlier, and continued a recent trend — we’ve seen an uptick in rookie extensions during the last few offseasons as more teams look to lock up their promising young players in advance of free agency.
We should expect several more rookie scale extensions to be signed between July and October of this year.
Here are the players who will be eligible to sign rookie scale extensions during the 2023 offseason:
- Precious Achiuwa (Raptors)
- Cole Anthony (Magic): Signed
- Deni Avdija (Wizards): Signed
LaMelo Ball (Hornets): Signed- Desmond Bane (Grizzlies): Signed
- Saddiq Bey (Hawks)
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves): Signed
- Malachi Flynn (Raptors)
- Josh Green (Mavericks): Signed
- Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers): Signed
- Killian Hayes (Pistons)
- Kira Lewis (Pelicans)
- Tyrese Maxey (Sixers)
- Jaden McDaniels (Timberwolves): Signed
- Aaron Nesmith (Pacers): Signed
- Zeke Nnaji (Nuggets): Signed
- Chuma Okeke (Magic)
- Note: Okeke was a 2019 first-round pick but didn’t sign his rookie scale contract until 2020.
- Onyeka Okongwu (Hawks): Signed
- Isaac Okoro (Cavaliers)
- Aleksej Pokusevski (Thunder)
- Payton Pritchard (Celtics): Signed
- Immanuel Quickley (Knicks)
- Isaiah Stewart (Pistons): Signed
- Obi Toppin (Pacers)
- Devin Vassell (Spurs): Signed
- Patrick Williams (Bulls)
- James Wiseman (Pistons)
The following players were selected in the first round of the 2020 draft along with the players listed above. However, they aren’t eligible for rookie scale extensions this year for the reasons noted:
- Udoka Azubuike: Fourth-year option declined by Jazz in 2022.
- Leandro Bolmaro: Signed rookie scale contract in 2021; waived by Jazz in 2023.
- R.J. Hampton: Fourth-year option declined by Magic in 2022.
- Jalen Smith: Third-year option declined by Suns in 2021.