Blazers Rumors: Draft Picks, Grant, Cronin, Ownership
The Pelicans’ play-in victories last week were bad news for the Trail Blazers, who would’ve received New Orleans’ 2022 first-round pick if it had fallen between No. 5 and No. 14. Having missed out on that pick, which ended up at No. 15, Portland will instead receive Milwaukee’s 2025 first-rounder (top-four protected). That future pick won’t be as valuable in trade talks for a team looking to accelerate its rebuild this offseason.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, it’s clear based on conversation with league personnel that the Blazers were operating under the assumption they’d have two lottery picks available, and there was a sense they’d try to use one of them to acquire an impact veteran like Pistons forward Jerami Grant.
“That was a big deal to them,” a Western Conference official told Fischer. “The expectation was certainly, ‘Once we get this pick, we’ll turn it into someone. We’ll overpay to get someone.'”
As Fischer and others reported at the trade deadline in February, the Pistons were seeking either two first-round picks or a first-round pick and a promising young player (such as Bulls forward Patrick Williams) in exchange for Grant. Detroit’s asking price will likely be similar this offseason, though there’s some skepticism it will be met, Fischer writes.
The Blazers’ willingness to overpay for a player like Grant will be diminished by the fact that they missed out on New Orleans’ lottery pick, according to Fischer, who says Portland hasn’t shown any desire to trade its own lottery pick, which will almost certainly land in the top eight.
Here’s more from Fischer on the Blazers:
- Damian Lillard has indicated to the Blazers’ front office that he’d like to play alongside a “two-way, rangy” wing, sources tell Bleacher Report. In addition to Grant, Fischer names Aaron Gordon, Ben Simmons, and Jaylen Brown as players who would appeal to Lillard, though it’s unclear whether any of them will be available this offseason — Brown, certainly, appears to be off the table.
- According to Fischer, interim general manager Joe Cronin appears likely to keep the Blazers’ GM job on a full-time basis. However, it’s possible the team will ultimately hire someone above him in the basketball operations hierarchy, like Philadelphia did by bringing in Daryl Morey to run a front office previously led by GM Elton Brand. Fischer’s sources are split on whether such a move is likely.
- Since the regular season ended, multiple sources have suggested to Fischer that the Blazers could begin exploring the market for new ownership as early as this summer. Some league insiders believe a sale of the franchise could be completed before the end of 2023, Fischer adds. Jody Allen – the sister of longtime Blazers owner Paul Allen, who passed away in 2018 – currently controls the team.
Bucks’ Middleton, Portis Injured In Game 2 Loss
The Bucks lost two key contributors to injuries over the course of their Game 2 loss to Chicago on Wednesday.
All-Star forward Khris Middleton left in the fourth quarter due to a left knee injury later diagnosed as a sprained MCL, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while big man Bobby Portis suffered a right eye abrasion in the first quarter and didn’t return, per an Associated Press report.
Middleton will undergo an MRI on his injured knee on Thursday to further assess the extent of the damage and to get a clearer sense of his potential timeline for a return.
A player’s recovery timetable from a sprained MCL can vary depending on the severity of the injury, but it’s generally measured in weeks rather than just days. Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Kelly Olynyk were among the players who missed more than a month this season due to MCL sprains — the Bucks will be hoping that Middleton’s sprain isn’t as significant.
“Obviously Khris is one of the best players on the team,” MVP finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo said after the game, per Owczarski. “If he’s not able to be with us, it going to be a tremendous loss for us. But at the end of the day, we’ve got guys that hopefully can step up and we can still do our job and compete and enjoy the game, and hopefully it’s not something very serious and he can come back and join us very soon.”
As for Portis, he left the game in the first quarter after taking a hit to the face from Tristan Thompson. Bucks assistant Darvin Ham said during an in-game interview that 27-year-old was “having problems with the vision in his right eye” (video link via Bally Sports Wisconsin). However, head coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game that the expectation is Portis “should be fine with some time,” according to Steve Megargee of The Associated Press.
In other injury news out of Milwaukee, it sounds like backup point guard George Hill, who missed the first two games of the series due to an abdominal strain, won’t be back for Game 3 — Budenholzer told reporters prior to Wednesday’s game that the Bucks “don’t expect him in the short term,” writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“We’ll see how he progresses over the next I’d say handful of days or more,” Budenholzer said of Hill.
We’ll wait for further updates on Middleton and Portis to see just how shorthanded the Bucks will be when they resume their series vs. the Bulls on Friday in Chicago, tied at one game apiece.
Four NBA Teams Have No 2022 Draft Picks
In a typical NBA draft, each team receives two picks — one in the first round and one in the second. However, as our pre-lottery draft order shows, only five NBA teams (the Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, Wizards, and Rockets) control exactly two picks in the 2022 draft. The other 25 clubs currently hold either more or less than that.
Two of the picks in the 2022 draft have been forfeited — Milwaukee and Miami lost second-rounders as penalties for jumping the gun in free agency.
Of the draft’s 58 remaining selections, 10 are controlled by the five teams noted above. Twelve more are owned by the Spurs, Timberwolves, and Thunder, who have four apiece. And 27 others are held by the Cavaliers, Pacers, Hornets, Magic, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Warriors, and Kings, who each have three.
That leaves nine picks for the league’s remaining 13 teams. The Celtics, Raptors, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Clippers each own one, while the final pick – No. 23 overall – will be controlled by either the Nets or Sixers. Philadelphia traded it to Brooklyn in the James Harden blockbuster, but the Nets have the option of letting the 76ers keep it and acquiring Philadelphia’s unprotected 2023 first-round pick instead.
Whichever team ends up not getting No. 23 will be one of four clubs that doesn’t currently have a draft pick in 2022. The other three? The Suns, Jazz, and Lakers.
Phoenix traded away its 2022 first-round pick two years ago for Chris Paul and its second-rounder earlier this year for Torrey Craig. Given that the Suns won 64 games and ensured those picks will land at No. 30 and No. 60, it’s safe to assume they have no regrets.
Like Phoenix, the Jazz used their 2022 first-rounder to acquire their current starting point guard (Mike Conley). The team gave up its second-rounder two years ago to land Elijah Hughes. Those trades may not have been quite as successful as the Suns’ deals, but the picks Utah surrendered landed in the bottom third of the draft order, at No. 22 and No. 52 — that’s not a huge loss.
The Lakers, who missed the playoffs, will have to surrender a lottery pick this year. We don’t know yet where exactly it will land, but the odds say it’ll probably be at least No. 8 or No. 9 — and it could end up as high as No. 1.
The Lakers can at least take solace in the fact that they gave up both of their 2022 draft picks in the Anthony Davis blockbuster, which helped them win a title in 2020. Still, of the teams without any ’22 draft selections, L.A. is the club that could most use one to inject its roster with some young, inexpensive talent. It will be interesting to see whether the Lakers find a way to get involved in this year’s draft, flexing their financial muscle by buying their way into the second round.
Paolo Banchero Enters 2022 NBA Draft
Duke power forward Paolo Banchero has opted to declare the 2022 NBA draft. Banchero confirmed his decision in a video posted to his Twitter account.
Banchero’s decision comes as no surprise, as he has long been viewed as one of the top prospects in the 2022 draft class and a legitimate candidate to be the first player selected on June 23. Currently, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz list the Blue Devils star as the No. 2 player on their big board, just behind Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and ahead of Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr.
A consensus second-team All-American as a freshman in 2021/22, Banchero averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.2 APG and posted a .478/.338/.729 shooting line in 39 games (33.0 MPG). He earned a spot on the All-ACC first team and was the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
According to Schmitz, Banchero is the most polished of the top three prospects in this year’s draft and boasts an impressive, well-rounded offensive game, exhibiting “legitimate guard skills” and the ability to be a ball-handler in the pick and roll. However, he doesn’t have the same defensive upside as Holmgren or Smith.
Banchero is the second Duke underclassman to declare for this year’s draft, joining sophomore center Mark Williams.
Injury Notes: Doncic, Trent, Barnes, Capela
After Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that there was optimism about Luka Doncic returning from his left calf strain as early as Game 3, the Mavericks star increased his activity at Wednesday’s practice, as veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein tweets.
Following that practice, Doncic spoke to the media for the first time during the playoffs and said he’s “feeling good,” per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). However, he wasn’t prepared to say he’ll be active for Game 3 in Utah on Thursday.
Doncic told reporters that a risk of aggravating the injury will be something he and the Mavs have to consider as they map out his return (Twitter links via MacMahon).
“I don’t know if I’m going to be 100 percent. I think that’s tough right now,” Doncic said. “But if I’m ready and there’s no risk of (aggravating the) injury, I’ll be out there.”
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Raptors swingman Gary Trent Jr. (non-COVID illness) was initially listed as questionable for Game 3 on Wednesday vs. Philadelphia, but he’ll play and start, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. The team will see how Trent feels in the first quarter before making a decision on how much he’ll play tonight, says Lewenberg.
- Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, meanwhile, continues to be listed as doubtful for Game 3 due to a left ankle sprain, but the rookie is out of his walking boot, and head coach Nick Nurse didn’t rule out the possibility that he could play on Wednesday, per Lewenberg (Twitter links).
- Providing an update on Clint Capela on Tuesday, Hawks head coach Nate McMillan said the injured big man remains limited to physical rehab work for now, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). As Spencer relays, Capela – who is recovering from a hyperextended right knee – was seen doing some light on-court work prior to Tuesday’s game (all video links).
- In case you missed it, we passed along the latest news on Devin Booker (hamstring) and Ben Simmons (back) earlier today.
Devin Booker Unlikely To Play In Games 3, 4
1:46pm: The results of the MRI on Booker’s hamstring are still being evaluated, but for now it appears unlikely that he’ll be able to play in Games 3 and 4 in New Orleans, reports Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that Booker’s right hamstring strain is believed to be relatively mild and he’s not being ruled out for the series.
The Suns have put out their own update, confirming that Booker has been diagnosed with a mild right hamstring strain and announcing there’s no timetable for his return.
7:07am: After scoring 31 points in the first half of the Suns‘ Game 2 loss to New Orleans on Tuesday, All-Star guard Devin Booker left the game in the third quarter due to a hamstring injury and didn’t return.
Booker, who was ruled out for the rest of the night with what the team referred to as right hamstring tightness, is expected to undergo testing and treatment on the injury today, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Head coach Monty Williams said after the game that the team expects to have “more information” on Wednesday.
As Windhorst notes, Booker missed seven games earlier this season due to a hamstring strain that affected his left leg. He also played through a hamstring injury during last year’s NBA Finals and has dealt with a few other hamstring issues over the years, though none have been too significant — this year’s seven-game absence was his longest stretch on the sidelines.
The top-seeded Suns, who went 8-6 this season without Booker, will still be favored over the Pelicans even without their leading scorer, but they don’t have a huge margin for error as they head to New Orleans with the series tied at one game apiece.
Williams told reporters after Tuesday’s game that the club would be ready to play without Booker in Game 3 on Friday if necessary.
“We’ve played without Chris (Paul) and Book before,” he said. “If we have to play without Book, next man up. We’ve done that all year long.”
Draft Notes: Cockburn, Bernard, McCormack, Green, Gibson
Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn is once again entering his name in the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Because he previously tested the draft waters in 2020 and 2021, Cockburn won’t be permitted to withdraw from the draft this time around, so he’ll forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility.
“I’m 100% in now,” Cockburn told ESPN. “I’m not going back to college. I’m signing with agent Todd Ramasar. I’ve tested the waters enough, I’m 100% dedicated to going all the way.”
The No. 89 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, Cockburn was a consensus first-team All-American and was the only college player to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game in 2021/22, says Givony.
The 22-year-old put up 20.9 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 28 appearances (30.7 MPG) for the Fighting Illini, but acknowledges that he’ll have to tweak his college game – which was heavy on back-to-the-basket, low-post scoring – to succeed in the NBA.
“The NBA values players like Steven Adams and Jonas Valanciunas — guys who set great screens, who know the pick and roll game, how to slip and seal, how to be a physical defender and rebounder who blocks shots,” Cockburn said. “My size can be a major advantage in the NBA. I don’t need the ball to be happy.”
Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2022 NBA draft:
- UCLA senior wing Jules Bernard will go through the draft process while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. Bernard, the Bruins’ third-leading scorer with 12.8 PPG in 2021/22, joins teammate Peyton Watson among UCLA players in the draft pool.
- Kansas senior power forward David McCormack is entering the 2022 draft and appears prepared to go pro, forging his final year of NCAA eligibility, he announced on Instagram. After earning Big 12 Most Improved Player honors in 2021, McCormack had another strong season for the eventual champs, averaging 10.6 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 40 games (21.9 MPG).
- Northern Iowa junior guard AJ Green has decided to enter the draft while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the transfer portal, he announced on Twitter. The two-time Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference has averaged 19.4 PPG with a .390 3PT% in 65 contests (35.7 MPG) since the start of the 2019/20 season.
- Oklahoma senior guard Umoja Gibson will test the draft waters, he announced on Twitter. Gibson, who has spent the last two years at Oklahoma after transferring from North Texas, averaged 13.3 PPG on .435/.390/.871 shooting in 35 games (32.1 MPG) in his senior year.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Bird Rights
The Bird exception, named after Larry Bird, is a rule included in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows teams to go over the salary cap to re-sign their own players. A player who qualifies for the Bird exception, formally referred to as a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent, is said to have “Bird rights.”
The most basic way for a player to earn Bird rights is to play for the same team for at least three seasons, either on a long-term deal or on separate one- or two-year contracts. Still, there are other criteria. A player retains his Bird rights in the following scenarios:
He changes teams via trade. For instance, the Pistons will hold Marvin Bagley III‘s Bird rights when he reaches free agency this offseason, despite just acquiring him in February. His Bird clock didn’t reset when he was traded from Sacramento to Detroit.- He finishes a third season with a team after having only signed for a partial season with the club in the first year. The Warriors signed Juan Toscano-Anderson midway through the 2019/20 season, adding him to their roster in February 2020. When his contract expires this offseason, Toscano-Anderson will have Bird rights despite not spending three full seasons with Golden State, because that half-season in ’19/20 started his Bird clock.
- He signed for a full season in year one or two but the team waived him, he cleared waivers, and didn’t sign with another team before re-signing with the club and remaining under contract through a third season. This one’s a little confusing, but let’s use Toscano-Anderson as a case study once more. After he finished the 2019/20 season with the Warriors, Toscano-Anderson was waived by the team in December 2020. Because the Warriors re-signed him shortly after cutting him and he didn’t join a new team in the interim, the swingman’s Bird clock picked up where it left off once he was back under contract, so he’ll have full Bird rights this summer.
A player sees the clock on his Bird rights reset to zero in the following scenarios:
- He changes teams via free agency.
- He is waived and is not claimed on waivers (except as in scenario No. 3 above).
- His rights are renounced by his team. However, as in scenario No. 3 above, a player’s Bird clock picks up where it left off if he re-signs with that team renounced without having signed with another NBA team. For example, Taj Gibson had Early Bird rights last offseason, then had those rights renounced by the Knicks as the team attempted to gain extra cap room. Since Gibson eventually signed a new deal with New York, he remains on track to secure full Bird rights this summer — that wouldn’t have been the case if he had signed with a new team.
- He is selected in an expansion draft.
If a player who would have been in line for Bird rights at the end of the season is waived and claimed off waivers, he would retain only Early Bird rights.
Meanwhile, a player with Bird rights who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract (or a one-year deal with a second-year option) would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded. As such, he receives the ability to veto trades so he can avoid that scenario.
[RELATED: Players who had the ability to veto trades in 2021/22]
The Bird exception was designed to allow teams to keep their best players, even when those teams don’t have the cap room necessary to do so.
When a player earns Bird rights, he’s eligible to re-sign with his team for up to five years and for any price up to his maximum salary (with 8% annual raises) when he becomes a free agent, no matter how much cap space the team has — or doesn’t have. The maximum salary varies from player to player depending on how long he has been in the league, but regardless of the precise amount, a team can exceed the salary cap to re-sign a player with Bird rights.
A team with a Bird free agent is assigned a “free agent amount” – also called a cap hold – worth either 190% of his previous salary (for a player with a below-average salary) or 150% of his previous salary (for an above-average salary), up to the maximum salary amount. For players coming off rookie scale contracts, the amounts of those cap holds are 300% and 250%, respectively.
The Hornets, for instance, will have a cap hold worth $16,264,479 for Miles Bridges on their 2022/23 books — 300% of his $5,421,493 salary for ’21/22. Charlotte could renounce Bridges and generate an extra $16MM+ in cap flexibility, but the Hornets would then lose the ability to re-sign him using Bird rights, which would force them to use either cap room or a different cap exception to re-sign him. As such, we can count on Charlotte keeping Bridges’ cap hold on the books until his free agency is resolved.
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 was 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: G. Hill, Lopez, Pacers, Cunningham
Bucks guard George Hill will remain sidelined for Game 2 of the team’s first-round series vs. Chicago on Wednesday due to an abdominal strain, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The injury, which Hill suffered on April 8, also kept him on the sidelines for Game 1 on Sunday.
As Owczarski relays, Bobby Portis (right calf bruise) and Jordan Nwora (back soreness) also showed up on the Bucks’ injury report for Game 2, but both are listed as probable and look like good bets to be active.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Bucks center Brook Lopez was limited to just 13 appearances during the regular season due to a back injury, but he’s healthy at the right time and looks like he has fresh legs, writes Steve Megargee of The Associated Press. The resurgence of Lopez, who scored 18 points in a season-high 32 minutes in Game 1 on Sunday, makes the Bucks more dangerous on both ends of the court and gives them a size advantage vs. Chicago, according to Megargee.
- In his preview of the Pacers‘ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) observes that the team must decide if it wants to continue rebuilding in 2022/23 or pivot back to competing for the playoffs. That decision will affect whether Indiana decides to retain or shop veterans like Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield, Marks writes.
- The three players selected immediately after Cade Cunningham in the 2021 draft look like future stars, but Cunningham’s second-half performance on the court and the leadership qualities he displayed off of the court show that the Pistons made the right call with the No. 1 pick, says Rod Beard of The Detroit News (subscriber link).
Warriors Notes: Poole, Curry, Starting Five
Warriors forward Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr both expressed surprise this week when Jordan Poole wasn’t included among the three finalists for the Most Improved Player award.
As Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes, Kerr called Poole’s omission “shocking,” though he acknowledged that All-Star guards Ja Morant, Darius Garland, and Dejounte Murray are all “worthy candidates.” Green conveyed his disagreement in stronger terms, per Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“If Jordan Poole isn’t the Most Improved Player, then the NBA really needs to relook at their process. Because you cannot find a guy on that list that has made a bigger improvement,” Green said. “I don’t care. If he’s not the Most Improved Player, then let’s rename the award to … who we like the most, who we see as more electrifying, to who we see may have a bigger impact on our team.
“That’s not the name of the award, that’s actually the Most Valuable Player, and so if we’re talking about the Most Improved Player, and if the award was voted on based upon its name, then it’s a no-brainer who’s the Most Improved Player.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Once Stephen Curry‘s protégé, Poole is turning into a legitimate co-star for the two-time MVP, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “He’s been watching Steph a lot,” Green said, “and he’s doing his best impression. And it is incredible.” President of basketball operations Bob Myers agreed with Green’s assessment: “Realistically, the engine is Curry. And now you’re seeing maybe twin engines. Which is fun.” Poole, who will be extension-eligible this offseason, has averaged 29.5 PPG on 65.5% shooting in the first two playoff games of his career.
- Given how well Poole has played, the Warriors will have a tough lineup decision to make once Curry is ready to return to the starting five, writes Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area. If they want to start both Curry and Poole alongside Green and Klay Thompson, it would mean bringing either Andrew Wiggins or Kevon Looney off the bench.
- Curry admitted after Game 2 on Monday that he’s still feeling some discomfort in his injured left foot, but said it “doesn’t matter,” adding that he’s committed to managing that discomfort through the playoffs (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
- In case you missed it, Warriors owner Joe Lacob discussed Poole’s emergence, Golden State’s championship hopes, and balancing the team’s veteran core with its young core, among other topics. Here are some of the highlights.