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Author: Luke Adams

Warriors’ Lacob Talks Playoffs, Poole, Young Core

By | at April 19, 2022 6:04 pm

The Warriors were forced to play without at least one of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry for the majority of 2021/22, as the three veteran stars each dealt with injuries and shared the court for just 11 minutes during the regular season.

Through two playoff games, Thompson, Green, and Curry have spent 30 minutes playing together and the Warriors have posted a +45.9 net rating during those minutes. Up 2-0 over Denver and firing all cylinders, this version of the club is the one owner Joe Lacob has been waiting all season to see, he told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

“This is the team we paid for,” said Lacob, referring to the record-setting cost of the roster. “We never really had the team together all year. So I’m excited to see them all play together. We never really got to see it. I think it’s exciting to see it.”

Lacob acknowledged that it has only been two games and that he doesn’t want to rush to any judgments, especially without having played on the road at all yet. But based on what he has seen so far, he feels good about Golden State’s chances of making a deep playoff run.

“I think one would have to certainly look at what we’ve done in the first two games and say it looks pretty good,” Lacob told Kawakami.

Here’s more from the Warriors’ owner:

  • Lacob told Kawakami that he’s thrilled about the emergence of Jordan Poole, who has “arguably been our best player for a month and a half.” With the third-year guard eligible for a lucrative rookie scale extension this offseason, Kawakami asked Lacob just how far the Warriors are willing to extend their payroll to make sure they lock up Poole and keep their core intact. “I’m not going to talk about salary because it’s irrelevant right now,” he replied. “We’re in this year. After the year’s over we’re all evaluating where we are, and we’ll try to put the best team on the court we can for next year. And we’ll see what that is.”
  • Lacob admitted to Kawakami that he got a little nervous during the Warriors’ 1-7 slump near the end of the regular season, but said he was confident the team would be fine once it got healthy. “This isn’t baseball. This isn’t football. This isn’t 50 guys or 25 guys,” Lacob said. “One guy can make a huge difference. You add Steph Curry to what we were doing at the end of the year, it’s pretty good.”
  • Even as Curry, Thompson, and Green enter their mid-30s, the Warriors are well positioned to remain competitive for the foreseeable future due to a young core of Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman, all of whom are 22 or younger. Lacob said he’s pleased that the Warriors’ decision to focus on both the present and future appears to be paying dividends. “There are a couple teams, I’m not going to say who, there’s some other teams that went all-in on older players,” Lacob told Kawakami. “And older players do get injured. That’s the thing you have to remember. Suppose we had made a trade, traded away all our youth, for I don’t know, you name the guy, and they’re injured, out for the year. Anytime you’re over 30, 32, 35, these people get injured. It’s data.”
29 comments Golden State Warriors

Injury Updates: Simmons, Barnes, Trent, Collins

By | at April 19, 2022 4:30 pm

Nets guard Ben Simmons, who continues to recover from a back issue, took contact for the first time on Monday and participated in a 4-on-4 scrimmage, head coach Steve Nash told reporters on Tuesday (link via Steve Popper of Newsday).

“Yesterday was his first day of contact, played with some teammates yesterday,” Nash said. “He’s making progress, but there’s no real update. We’ll just see how he responds and see if he’s able to do more contact tomorrow.”

It’s another positive update for Simmons after ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Shams Charania of The Athletic both referred to him on Monday as “pain-free,” per NetsDaily. The three-time All-Star has been ruled out for Game 2, but it remains possible that he could make his Nets debut later in the first round. A pair of reports last week indicated that Simmons was targeting a return between Games 4 and 6.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • The Raptors have listed forward Scottie Barnes (ankle) as doubtful for Game 3 on Wednesday, while swingman Gary Trent Jr. (non-COVID illness) has been deemed questionable, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
  • Hawks big man John Collins is still experiencing pain in his finger and acknowledges he isn’t “at peak physical conditioning,” but he’s hoping to take on a bigger role in Game 2 after playing 21 minutes in his return on Sunday in Game 1, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I feel like I’m as good as I can be right now,” Collins said. “Trying to take all the precautions and all the treatments. Only thing I can do. Obviously, I’m still in some pain. But I feel like everybody’s in some type of pain this time of year, at some point. Mine might be a little bit more than normal, but I’m still trying to do what I can.”
  • In case you missed it, there’s optimism that Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be able to return in Game 3 or Game 4 vs. Utah.
3 comments Atlanta Hawks Brooklyn Nets Toronto Raptors

Optimism For Doncic Return In Game 3 Or Game 4

By | at April 19, 2022 3:37 pm

There’s optimism that Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be able to return from his calf strain in one of the next two games in Utah, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Jazz will host Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Saturday before the series shifts back to Dallas for Game 5 next Monday.

According to Charania, Doncic – who strained his left calf on April 10 – has improved in recent days. His workouts over the next couple days could determine whether he attempts to return in Game 3 or Game 4, Charania adds.

The Jazz defeated the Doncic-less Mavericks in Game 1 of the series on Saturday, but Dallas bounced back on Monday to even the series. That Game 2 victory was a crucial one, allowing the Mavs to split their first two home games without Doncic before going on the road.

If Doncic is unavailable for Game 3 on Thursday, the Mavs will have to once again lean heavily on point guards Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie, who combined for 58 points, 11 assists, and 12 rebounds in Monday’s win.

2 comments Dallas Mavericks Newsstand Utah Jazz

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Morris, UDFAs, Tucker

By | at April 19, 2022 2:34 pm

Having initially been listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game due to a left quad contusion, Heat big man Bam Adebayo said today that he’s playing, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Adebayo, who expressed on Monday that his finish outside of the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting was “disrespectful,” told reporters on Tuesday that he’s moving on from the perceived snub and is focused on Game 2, according to Jackson.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • Viewed as one of the Heat’s most important reserves entering the season, Markieff Morris was limited to 17 games this season due to a neck injury and was a DNP-CD in the first game of the playoffs. He has discussed his situation with head coach Erik Spoelstra, but says he “has to accept it” and hasn’t complained, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “Obviously, I’m one of the top guys on the team. But we’ve had success without me,” Morris said. “It happens to be one of those things – and I understand — if I’m needed, that’s when I’ll play. There’s nothing I can really do. It has nothing to do with my game or my career. … This situation now, it’s not broken, so no need to fix it.”
  • The Heat have had an inordinate amount of success with undrafted players, including Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Gabe Vincent, and Omer Yurtseven in recent years, not to mention 19-year veteran Udonis Haslem. In a story for ESPN.com, Andrew Lopez takes a look at the impressive work the franchise has done developing players who have been overlooked on draft night. “It’s an organizational philosophy of ours,” Spoelstra told ESPN. “We’ve done it now for several years. We know what we’re looking for. We’re not for everybody, but we love to be dream makers.”
  • Veteran forward P.J. Tucker has embraced the idea of being a mentor for the Heat’s younger players, saying this week that he wishes a veteran had taken on that role with him earlier in his career. “I think so many times when I was younger, coming into the league, being a young player, I wish I had somebody to kind of help me, teach me little tricks of the trade, little things you got to do, how to stay focused,” Tucker said, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
8 comments Miami Heat

Kyrie Irving Fined $50K By NBA

By | at April 19, 2022 1:15 pm

Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $50K by the NBA, the league announced today in a press release.

According to the statement, Irving was penalized for “making obscene gestures on the playing court and directing profane language toward the spectator stands.” The incidents occurred during Game 1 of the Nets’ first-round series with the Celtics, as Irving got into it with some of the fans in Boston.

Irving, who played for the Celtics from 2017-19 before departing for Brooklyn in free agency, spoke to reporters after Sunday’s game about his interactions with the Boston faithful, as Nick Friedell of ESPN relays.

“Look, where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close nearby,” Irving said. “It’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s going to be like — but it’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them.

“And it’s not every fan, I don’t want to attack every fan, every Boston fan. When people start yelling ‘p—y’ or ‘b—-‘ and ‘f— you’ and all this stuff, there’s only but so much you take as a competitor. We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach, f— that, it’s the playoffs. This is what it is.”

Irving previously likened Celtics fans to a “scorned girlfriend” following a March game in Boston.

While $50K is a drop in the bucket for a maximum-salary player like Irving, it’s worth noting that $50K is the largest amount the NBA can fine a player without opening the door for the player to appeal the decision and take the issue to a grievance arbitrator.

22 comments Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Newsstand

Draft Notes: Strawther, Spagnolo, Pippen, Baugh, Zugic

By | at April 19, 2022 11:29 am

Gonzaga sophomore wing Julian Strawther has declared for the 2022 NBA draft, he announced on Twitter. While Strawther doesn’t explicitly say that he’s forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility and going pro, his statement also doesn’t really leave the door open for a return to college, so it sounds like he’s not just testing the draft waters.

Strawther was a key contributor for a top-seeded Gonzaga team, averaging 11.8 PPG and 5.4 RPG with a .498/.365/.705 shooting line in 32 games (31 starts; 26.8 MPG). He’s currently the No. 71 prospect on ESPN’s list of the top 100 prospects for 2022, making him a candidate to be drafted, but hardly a lock.

Strawther is the second early entrant from Gonzaga to declare for the draft this spring, joining teammate Drew Timme.

Here are a few more updates on players entering the draft:

  • Italian guard Matteo Spagnolo has entered his name in the 2022 draft pool, according to his agents at Sigma Sports (Instagram link). The 19-year-old, who is the No. 53 prospect on ESPN’s big board, has enjoyed a breakout season for Vanoli Cremona in Italy, averaging 12.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .441 3PT% in 25 games (27.0 MPG).
  • After testing the draft waters in 2021, Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. has once again entered the draft and will be hiring an agent and going pro this time around, he announced on Twitter. As a junior in 2021/22, the 6’1″ guard averaged 20.4 PPG, 4.5 APG, and 3.6 RPG on .416/.325/.749 shooting in 36 games (33.1 MPG). He’s the No. 97 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list.
  • TCU junior guard Damion Baugh has decided to enter the 2022 draft, though he’ll just be testing the waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, he announced on Twitter. Baugh averaged 10.6 PPG, 4.5 APG, and 4.4 RPG in 31 games (31.1 MPG) for the Horned Frogs in 2021/22 after transferring from Memphis.
  • Montengrin shooting guard Fedor Zugic has declared for the NBA draft, according to his agency, BDA Sports (via Twitter). The 18-year-old Zugic, who has been playing for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, doesn’t have to worry about losing college eligibility, so he’ll be able to wait until as late as June 13 before making a final decision on whether to stay in the draft or withdraw.
1 comment 2022 NBA Draft

NBA Team Option Decisions For 2022/23

By | at April 19, 2022 9:17 am

Having already created a space to track this offseason’s player option decisions, we’re turning our attention today to team options. Over the next couple months, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the team options for 2022/23, making note of whether they’re exercised or declined.

True team options are different than non-guaranteed salaries, which aren’t listed in the space below. Non-guaranteed salaries are less restrictive and provide a little more flexibility than team options, which clubs must act upon by a specific date (June 29) each year.

However, team options can be useful at the end of a contract, since turning down that option allows the team to retain some form of Bird rights on the player — waiving a player with a non-guaranteed salary doesn’t present that same opportunity. Additionally, a handful of contracts still don’t become fully guaranteed once an option is picked up, giving teams an extra level of flexibility.

The list below doesn’t include rookie scale team options for 2022/23, since those third- and fourth-year options function differently than team options on standard veteran contracts. Those ’22/23 rookie scale team option decisions were made during the 2021 offseason, and can be found here.

The standard team options for 2022/23 are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the fall to note the latest decisions as they’re reported and/or announced.

Unless otherwise indicated, a player’s salary will become guaranteed once his team option is exercised.

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • Jalen McDaniels ($1,930,681): Exercised
    • Note: McDaniels’ salary remains non-guaranteed even with his option exercised, but will become fully guaranteed on August 1.

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Dean Wade ($1,930,681): Exercised
    • Note: Wade’s salary remains non-guaranteed even with his option exercised.

Detroit Pistons

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

  • Oshae Brissett ($1,846,738): Exercised
    • Note: Brissett’s salary remains non-guaranteed even with his option exercised.

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Ivica Zubac ($7,518,518): Declined
    • Note: Zubac and the Clippers reached an extension agreement that involved declining his option.

Los Angeles Lakers

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Jaylen Nowell ($1,930,681): Exercised
    • Note: Nowell’s salary remains non-guaranteed even with his option exercised.
  • Naz Reid ($1,930,681): Exercised
    • Note: Reid’s salary remains non-guaranteed even with his option exercised, but will become fully guaranteed on July 20.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Philadelphia 76ers

Sacramento Kings

4 comments Hoops Rumors Originals

Pelicans Notes: Lineup, Griffin, Ingram, Alvarado

By | at April 19, 2022 8:01 am

The Pelicans‘ “jumbo” lineups weren’t working in Game 1 of their first-round series vs. the Suns, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The team found success in the second half of the regular season by starting Jaxson Hayes at power forward alongside center Jonas Valanciunas, but the two big men had matching plus-minus ratings of -11 on Sunday, the worst marks of any player on either team.

Hayes ended up playing just 11 minutes, with Trey Murphy coming off the bench to play 26 minutes. New Orleans was a plus-six when Murphy was on the court and the team’s offense was functioning better, says Guillory. However, head coach Willie Green told reporters on Monday that he’s not planning to change his starting lineup, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

“Not at the moment,” Green said. “I think as a group, we didn’t have a great first half. That wasn’t one individual, that was us as a team. We have to be better. We have to do the things we do better, harder and with more force and see where we are after that.”

Here’s more on the Pelicans:

  • Pelicans VP of basketball operations David Griffin has made some mistakes since being hired to head up the team’s front office in 2019, but he deserves credit for putting together a team that made the playoffs even without Zion Williamson available all season, Rod Walker of NOLA.com opines. Walker believes the Pelicans look like a potential top-three squad in the West with a fully healthy Williamson.
  • Griffin’s faith in Brandon Ingram as a franchise leader on and off the court has been rewarded, according to Scott Kushner of NOLA.com, who points to Ingram’s performances in play-in wins over the Spurs (27 points) and Clippers (30 points) as indicators of the forward’s ability to handle the spotlight and step up in big games.
  • Pelicans rookie guard Jose Alvarado is joining Puerto Rico’s national team, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). As Charania observes, Alvarado will get a chance to face Team USA this summer in qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
  • Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a look at the long-standing bond between Willie Green and his first-round coaching rival Monty Williams. After the two men were teammates in Philadelphia, Green played for Williams in New Orleans and then was an assistant on his Suns staff. “Monty and I are not just friends,” Green told Quick. “We are like … that’s like my older brother. I look up to Monty.”
12 comments New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns

2022 Pre-Lottery NBA Draft Order

By | at April 18, 2022 3:54 pm

The NBA conducted its draft tiebreakers on Monday, further cementing the draft order for 2022. While we’ll have to wait until the May 17 draft lottery to learn the exact order for this year’s event, we now know what most of the 60 selections look like.

Listed below is the pre-lottery 2022 NBA draft order. Each lottery team’s chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick are noted in parentheses. We’ve also included notes for picks whose status remains up in the air — for example, the Lakers‘ first-round pick could still technically end up with either the Pelicans or Grizzlies.

[RELATED: 2022 NBA Draft Lottery Odds]

The second-round draft order for teams with identical regular season records is the inverse of their first-round order. This rule applies even when one club made the playoffs and one didn’t. For instance, the 43-39 Hawks will pick ahead of the 43-39 Hornets in the second round.

We’ll provided an updated list after the May 17 lottery, once the official draft order is set, but here’s the tentative 2022 NBA draft order:

First Round:

  1. Houston Rockets (14.0%)
  2. Orlando Magic (14.0%)
  3. Detroit Pistons (14.0%)
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder (12.5%)
  5. Indiana Pacers (10.5%)
  6. Portland Trail Blazers (9.0%)
  7. Sacramento Kings (7.5%)
  8. New Orleans Pelicans (from Lakers) (6.0%)
    • Note: The Grizzlies will receive this pick if it falls to No. 11 or No. 12.
  9. San Antonio Spurs (4.5%)
  10. Washington Wizards (3.0%)
  11. New York Knicks (2.0%)
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers) (1.5%)
  13. Charlotte Hornets (1.0%)
  14. Cleveland Cavaliers (0.5%)
  15. Charlotte Hornets (from Pelicans)
  16. Atlanta Hawks
  17. Houston Rockets (from Nets)
  18. Chicago Bulls
  19. Minnesota Timberwolves
  20. San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
  21. Denver Nuggets
  22. Memphis Grizzlies (from Jazz)
  23. Brooklyn Nets (from Sixers)
    • Note: The Nets have the option of deferring their acquisition of the Sixers’ pick to 2023. That decision must be made by June 1.
  24. Milwaukee Bucks
  25. San Antonio Spurs (from Celtics)
  26. Dallas Mavericks
  27. Miami Heat
  28. Golden State Warriors
  29. Memphis Grizzlies
  30. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Suns)

Second Round:

  1. Indiana Pacers (from Rockets)
  2. Orlando Magic
  3. Toronto Raptors (from Pistons)
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder
  5. Orlando Magic (from Pacers)
  6. Portland Trail Blazers
  7. Sacramento Kings
  8. San Antonio Spurs (from Lakers)
  9. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Spurs)
  10. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Wizards)
  11. New Orleans Pelicans
  12. New York Knicks
  13. Los Angeles Clippers
  14. Atlanta Hawks
  15. Charlotte Hornets
  16. Detroit Pistons (from Nets)
  17. Memphis Grizzlies (from Cavaliers)
    • Note: If the Lakers’ first-round pick falls outside of the top 10, this pick would instead go to the Pelicans.
  18. Minnesota Timberwolves
  19. Sacramento Kings (from Bulls)
  20. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nuggets)
  21. Golden State Warriors (from Raptors)
  22. New Orleans Pelicans (from Jazz)
  23. Boston Celtics
  24. Milwaukee Bucks
  25. Miami Heat (from Sixers)
  26. Washington Wizards (from Mavericks)
  27. Golden State Warriors
  28. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Heat)
  29. Portland Trail Blazers (from Grizzlies)
  30. Indiana Pacers (from Suns)
6 comments 2022 NBA Draft Newsstand
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