Damian Lillard Discusses Decision To Stick With Blazers
Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has acknowledged that he reevaluated his future in Portland following a frustrating 2020/21 season and first-round playoff loss. However, after a summer of soul-searching, the six-time All-Star appears more committed than ever to the Blazers, expressing that sentiment again this week after he received cheers from Sixers fans in Philadelphia, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN details.
“I know what it is and I know what it’s about,” Lillard said after the game. “But I’m a Trail Blazer. I appreciate the love. I appreciate the respect that they showed and the desire or whatever but I’m 10 toes in Rip City, and I’ve said that time and time again, and tonight I laughed about it during starting lineups but that was that.”
Lillard has spoken a little over the last month about his recommitment to the Blazers, but he went into more detail on his thought process in a conversation with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, revealing that he weighed his decision for two months and met in Los Angeles with Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the offseason.
According to Lillard, James and Davis didn’t push him to become a Laker. Even if Lillard had expressed interest in such a scenario, the odds of Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey trading him to Los Angeles would’ve been virtually non-existent, Haynes notes. Still, LeBron asked him how he felt about his situation in Portland and talked about what it might look like if he were to leave. For his part, Lillard expressed reluctance to join a super-team.
“I was just saying, I don’t know if this is the route I wanted to go,” Lillard told Haynes. “And that was pretty much how the conversation went.
“… I’m sure it would be great to play with LeBron and AD and play in a big market, but as attractive as it sounded and as fun as that might be, I don’t feel in my heart that that’s who I am or where I belong. And one thing I want to emphasize is that this decision (to stick with the Blazers) wasn’t made out of comfort. I’m not afraid to be out of my comfort zone, because I’m going to live here when I’m done playing regardless. I made my decision based on what I actually want to do.”
Haynes’ in-depth look at Lillard’s decision-making process includes a ton of interesting tidbits and is worth reading in full. Here are a few more of the most noteworthy quotes from the Blazers star:
On his decision to remain in Portland:
“I want to win here. I’ve attached myself to the history of this organization and this city. Just in thinking about how long it’s been since they’ve won, I want to be a part of that coming to an end. I want people to say, ‘When Dame came through here, he rode all the way out for us through the good and the bad. He was ready to sink with the ship.’
“… If I did decide to go do something else, there’s also no guarantee that I’m going to win it by moving on. So, my best bet is to stick to my guns and do what I care about in my heart. … You look at some of the dudes around the league that was at the top of their game and they made one move and now they’re on this team, next year on another team and now they’re somewhere completely different. As much as I want to win, I want to do it my way.”
On whether he’s satisfied with the moves the front office has made and the team’s direction going forward:
“The conversations I’ve had with Neil, he didn’t promise me we’re about to get LeBron. They didn’t tell me we’re about to go get a superstar player because I don’t think you need all superstar players to win. We’ve got CJ (McCollum). He’s an All-Star-level player. We’ve got (Jusuf) Nurkic. He’s one of the best centers in the league. It’s the way you piece the team together.
“If you look at Phoenix, they don’t have a bunch of stars. They got people who are really good at what they do and understand their roles. Chris Paul and Devin Booker are All-Stars, but Deandre Ayton is a quality center, Jae Crowder is an experienced, quality stretch-four man that’s tough, Cam Johnson is nice and Mikal Bridges is my favorite small forward in the league. You just look at how that team is put together and they’re in the Finals coming out of the West. That’s what my vision is. … We have the core pieces to do the same thing that Phoenix did. It’s just how you fill that in.”
On what it would be like to eventually win a title with the Blazers:
“If I was to get that championship for Portland, I would cry, bruh. Bruh, on the spot. I would really cry, bro. I want to win a championship here. And because of how strongly I feel about that, I don’t know how rewarding it would feel for me at this point if I won somewhere else. Winning it here would be a lifetime achievement for me.”
Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Green, Kyrie, Celtics
Sixers president Daryl Morey approached Ben Simmons on Wednesday to inquire about his status and was told the three-time All-Star remains mentally unready to play and continues to seek professional help, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania adds that there’s still no timeline for Simmons’ return to the court, echoing a Tuesday story from ESPN.
While Tuesday’s report suggested the Sixers are becoming frustrated with the lack of updates from Simmons, Charania tweets that team officials have remained supportive and aren’t requesting specific details about the 25-year-old’s conversations with doctors. However, they would like some feedback from him on the process. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice wrote something similar earlier today, suggesting the club is seeking a “status update,” rather than “minute-to-minute details” on what Simmons is up to.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- In addition to being without Simmons and Tobias Harris, who tested positive for COVID-19, the Sixers are currently missing Danny Green, who is dealing with left hamstring tightness. As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, if Green has a strained hamstring, he could be out anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks.
- Mayor-elect Eric Adams said he’ll “revisit” New York City’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate when he takes office on January 1, according to Amanda Woods and Sam Raskin of The New York Post. That could be good news for Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined due to his vaccination status. However, Adams may only be referring to the mandates for municipal workers like police officers and fire fighters, and even if he revisits the city-wide mandate for indoor venues, there’s no guarantee he’ll make any changes.
- Asked by Michael Holley of NBC Sports Boston (video link) if the Celtics have the “right group” of players to contend this season, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens replied, “We’re going to find out.” Stevens added that he feels like the team is better “from a structural standpoint” than its 2-5 record suggests.
2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Phoenix Suns
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2021 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s offseason moves and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Phoenix Suns.
Free agent signings:
Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.
- Chris Paul: Four years, $120MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Fourth year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Cameron Payne: Three years, $19MM. Third year partially guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
- JaVale McGee: One year, $5MM. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
- Abdel Nader: Two years, $4.16MM. Second-year team option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Frank Kaminsky: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Elfrid Payton: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Chandler Hutchison: Two-way contract.
Trades:
- Acquired Landry Shamet from the Nets in exchange for Jevon Carter and the draft rights to Day’Ron Sharpe (No. 29 pick).
Draft picks:
- None
Contract extensions:
Mikal Bridges: Four years, $90,000,000. Starts in 2022/23.- Landry Shamet: Four years, $42,500,000. Includes non-guaranteed third year and fourth-year team option. Starts in 2022/23.
Departing players:
- Ty-Shon Alexander
- Jevon Carter
- Torrey Craig
- Langston Galloway
- E’Twaun Moore
Other offseason news:
- Hired Bryan Gates, Michael Ruffin, and Jarrett Jack as assistant coaches; lost assistant coach Willie Green.
- Parted ways with senior vice president of basketball operations Jeff Bower.
- Dario Saric continues to recover from a torn ACL and is expected to miss most or all of the season.
- Were unable to reach a contract extension agreement with Deandre Ayton.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
- Carrying approximately $128.4MM in salary.
- $4,536,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($5MM used on JaVale McGee).
- Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
The Suns’ offseason:
Phoenix’s 8-0 run during the 2020 summer restart at Walt Disney World portended the team’s jump in the standings in 2020/21, but even the most optimistic of Suns fans must have been pleasantly surprised by just how successful a season it was.
After finishing below .500 for six consecutive years and missing the playoffs for an entire decade, the Suns put up the second-best regular season record in the NBA (51-21) and knocked off the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, then just kept winning. Phoenix ultimately got within two games of the title before being stopped by the Bucks.
The Suns benefited from a little injury luck during their 2021 playoff run, but their success wasn’t a mirage — this is a deep, talented roster, and the club’s offseason moves reflected a desire to keep the group intact.
That meant re-signing Chris Paul, even if the idea of committing four years and $120MM to a 36-year-old may have been hard to swallow for team owner Robert Sarver. Fortunately for the Suns, only the first two years of that contract are fully guaranteed, which means that even if Paul’s performance drops off a cliff in the next year or two, it should never become a major albatross.
For comparison’s sake, CP3’s new deal includes less total guaranteed money ($75MM) than John Wall was still owed ($91.7MM) at the time the Rockets shut him down indefinitely earlier this year, and about the same amount ($74MM) that Kemba Walker was owed when he reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder.
The Suns locked up three more of their own free agents, re-signing Cameron Payne, Abdel Nader, and Frank Kaminsky. Nader and Kaminsky will play modest roles, but bringing back Payne as Paul’s backup following his career resurgence was crucial. Securing him to a new deal helped allow Phoenix to package its third-string point guard – Jevon Carter – with a first-round pick in a deal for another floor-spacing wing, Landry Shamet.
Carter is a solid defender, but reliable outside shooters like Shamet are harder to come by in today’s NBA, and the win-now Suns were unlikely to draft an immediate contributor with the No. 29 pick, so the deal made sense — especially since Phoenix was able to replace Carter on the depth chart by signing another defensive specialist, Elfrid Payton, to a minimum-salary contract.
The Suns’ other notable outside free agent addition was JaVale McGee, a solid veteran center who can help Deandre Ayton match up with star big men like Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, and Rudy Gobert in the playoffs.
Phoenix’s offseason signings didn’t push team salary for 2021/22 into tax territory, but the club projects to be a taxpayer starting in ’22/23. That knowledge informed many of the team’s remaining roster moves.
For instance, the Suns were unwilling to exercise Jalen Smith‘s 2022/23 team option after having drafted him with the 10th overall pick less than a year ago. There has simply been no room in the rotation for Smith since he arrived in Phoenix, and the club clearly didn’t expect that to change much going forward. Rather than paying Smith a $4.67MM salary in ’22/23, the team will likely sign a minimum-salary player next year to be that emergency big man off the bench.
The Suns also didn’t complete a rookie scale extension for Ayton, a former No. 1 overall pick, despite the fact that so many other members of his draft class (a record-setting 11) got new deals. Ayton’s camp reportedly refused to entertain anything less than a five-year, maximum-salary contract, which Phoenix was unwilling to offer.
Waiting until restricted free agency to work something out with Ayton is a risky move for the Suns, since it opens the door to some less desirable outcomes. Phoenix may have to match an offer sheet that features a trade kicker and an early opt-out. There’s even a chance Ayton could accept his one-year qualifying offer, putting him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2023.
But the franchise appeared more comfortable taking those risks than making such a significant financial commitment to its starting center. The best-case scenario for the Suns is that a lack of suitors with cap room results in no offer sheet for Ayton, who in turn accepts a little less than the max to remain in Phoenix, like John Collins did with Atlanta this past offseason.
The Suns did complete rookie scale extensions for Shamet and Mikal Bridges, viewing them as core players who could be locked up at a reasonable price (about $10.6MM per year for Shamet and $22.5MM annually for Bridges).
The Suns’ season:
Paul won’t play at an All-NBA level forever, but further improvements from young players such as Devin Booker, Ayton, and Bridges could offset some regression from the future Hall-of-Fame point guard. And while there are plenty of talented teams in the West, there’s not one that stands out as the clear-cut favorite to win the conference, like the Warriors were from 2016-19. Another deep playoff run is a reasonable goal for Phoenix.
One more trade to address the hole left by Dario Saric‘s ACL injury would help solidify the Suns’ place as a legit title contender, but assuming Paul doesn’t take a major step back and the team isn’t plagued by more bad injury luck, the biggest question marks in Phoenix this season may be about off-the-court issues, rather than on-court talent.
Will Ayton be distracted at all by his contract situation? Will the rumored report accusing Sarver of a series of misdeeds see the light of day? If so, will those allegations be deemed credible enough to cause an ownership shake-up?
The Suns won’t sneak up on anyone in 2021/22, so it will be fascinating to see how capable they are of defending their Western Conference crown with a target on their backs and potential off-court distractions looming.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Foul Calls, New Ball, Mudiay, Acy
The NBA is pleased with the way its referees have handled the crackdown on foul calls on non-basketball moves so far this season, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s VP of referee development and training, said that the refs are still focused on allowing offensive players to have freedom of movement and will continue to seek the right balance of foul calls as the season progresses.
“There’ve been a few instances, nothing that’s raised to a significant level, where we would still want a defensive foul where it’s getting lumped into a non-basketball move,” McCutchen said, per Bontemps. “We’re in the middle of that adjustment period with the staff. We have staff calls at a higher cadence than we would when we’re not implementing something as significant as this, and we’re showing them examples so that we can adjust in real-time to meet the demands of the league.”
As Shams Charania of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), the NBA’s competition committee has also discussed the increase in “take” fouls on transition plays and has encouraged the league to office to consider tweaking the rules for those fouls. However, that’s unlikely to happen in the middle of the season, so it may have to wait until 2022/23.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The NBA is using a new basketball this season, having switched from Spalding to Wilson. Clippers star Paul George said on Monday night that the Wilson ball doesn’t have the “touch and softness” of the Spalding one (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times) and NBPA president CJ McCollum said he’ll discuss the ball this week with players to get their input (Twitter link via Chris Mannix of SI.com). For what it’s worth, president of league operations Byron Spruell said on Tuesday that the NBA hasn’t gotten much feedback on the new ball (link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN), and Seth Partnow of The Athletic is skeptical it’s the reason for the early-season dip in offensive efficiency.
- Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas has parted ways with former NBA lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link). Sources tell Urbonas that Mudiay will likely continue playing in Europe — he’ll be eligible to sign with a new EuroLeague team next month.
- Former NBA big man Quincy Acy has signed with Olympiacos, the Greek team announced in a press release. Acy, who appeared in 337 NBA games from 2012-19 and has since played in China and Israel, agreed to a deal that runs through 2022/23.
Spurs’ Poeltl In Protocols, Expected To Miss Several Games
Spurs center Jakob Poeltl is the latest NBA player to enter the league’s health and safety protocols and is expected to miss several games, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Based on the adjusted NBA’s protocols for COVID-19 this season, a player who is being ruled out for a few games has generally tested positive, though that hasn’t been confirmed in Poeltl’s case.
The Spurs’ starting center, Poeltl has played well in the early going this season, averaging 13.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 29.9 minutes per contest (seven games). All those numbers would be career highs.
With Poeltl unavailable for perhaps the next week or 10 days, backup centers Drew Eubanks and Jock Landale will move up the Spurs’ depth chart. The team could also play more small-ball lineups, with a forward like Thaddeus Young or Keita Bates-Diop in Poeltl’s place.
Besides Poeltl, the players currently in the NBA’s health and safety protocols include Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, Lauri Markkanen, and Kevin Love.
Lauri Markkanen Enters Protocols, Expected To Miss Several Games
Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against Portland, the team announced today (via Twitter).
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Markkanen is expected to miss several games while he remains in the protocols. That could mean he has tested positive for COVID-19, though that hasn’t been confirmed.
Markkanen is the second Cavaliers player to enter the protocols this week, joining teammate Kevin Love.
After being acquired via sign-and-trade this offseason, Markkanen has started all eight of the Cavaliers’ games to open the regular season, joining Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in a jumbo-sized frontcourt. Markkanen’s production has been below his usual level as he adjusts to his new team — his 12.9 PPG, .361 FG%, and .280 3PT% would all be career lows.
With Markkanen and Love sidelined, the Cavs figure to lean more heavily on Allen and Mobley up front. Cedi Osman, Dean Wade, and Lamar Stevens are among the club’s backup forwards who could take on increased roles.
Raptors Notes: Dragic, Dekker, Bonga, Achiuwa, Barnes
The Raptors are on a four-game winning streak, but Goran Dragic has been a DNP-CD in all four games, raising questions about his place on the roster. While the veteran point guard clearly isn’t a long-term keeper for the Raptors, there’s no indication that he’ll be traded or bought out anytime soon, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
As Grange explains, it’s too early in the season for any real trade market to develop for Dragic, and it’s unlikely that either the player or the team wants to make significant concessions in a buyout arrangement.
For now then, the two sides remain in an “amicable” holding pattern, says Grange — Dragic will remain on the roster as a respected veteran and talented backup, and his situation will be revisited closer to the February trade deadline.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Within the same story, Grange says the Raptors seem likely to cut either Sam Dekker or Isaac Bonga in the coming days. Both players’ salaries for 2021/22 will become guaranteed if they remain on the roster through November 6 and Toronto can duck under the luxury tax line by waiving one or the other. Dekker and Bonga have played a combined eight total minutes this season, and would be pushed further down the depth chart once Pascal Siakam and Yuta Watanabe return from their respective injuries.
- Precious Achiuwa was one of the Raptors’ key offseason acquisitions, but the young center has experienced some growing pains so far this season. As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, head coach Nick Nurse benched Achiuwa in favor of backup center Khem Birch to open the second half of the team’s win over the Knicks on Monday. Although Birch doesn’t have Achiuwa’s upside, the veteran has exhibited better fundamentals, playing solid team defense, setting screens, and rebounding.
- Rookie forward Scottie Barnes will miss a second straight game on Wednesday vs. Washington due to a right thumb sprain, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
2021/22 NBA Two-Way Contract Conversions
At Hoops Rumors, we track virtually every kind of transaction, including free agent signings, trades, contract extensions, waiver claims, and many more. One form of roster move that has become increasingly common in recent years is the two-way conversion, involving a player either being converted from an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, or from a two-way deal to the standard roster.
In the past, we haven’t created trackers to keep tabs on each year’s two-way conversions in one place, but we’re going to do so for the 2021/22 season, since there have already been quite a few of them.
Let’s dive in…
Exhibit 10 contracts to two-way contracts:
When a player signs a contract during the offseason that includes Exhibit 10 language, he gives his new team the ability to unilaterally convert his deal into a two-way contract. The deadline to convert such a deal is the day before the season begins — this year that was Monday, October 18.
A player who signs a training camp contract that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language could still sign a two-way deal with his club as long as his camp contract doesn’t include a guarantee exceeding $50K. However, he’d have to clear waivers before inking that new two-way contract.
Here are the players who had their Exhibit 10 contracts converted into two-way deals in 2021/22:
- Armoni Brooks (Rockets)
- Devontae Cacok (Spurs)
- Tyler Cook (Bulls)
- Jeff Dowtin (Warriors)
- David Duke (Nets)
- Tacko Fall (Cavaliers)
- Malik Fitts (Jazz)
- Garrison Mathews (Rockets)
- RJ Nembhard (Cavaliers)
- Daishen Nix (Rockets)
- Jamorko Pickett (Pistons)
- Yves Pons (Grizzlies)
A number of these players were invited to training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and ultimately earned two-way slots based on their performances in camp and the preseason. Cook, Duke, Fall, Fitts, Nembhard, Nix, Pickett, and Pons fall into this group.
Others were waived by different teams before the regular season roster deadline, then were claimed off waivers on October 18 and immediately converted to two-way deals. This group is made up of Cacok, Dowtin and Mathews, who were cut by Brooklyn, Orlando, and Boston, respectively.
The one player who doesn’t fall into either category is Brooks, whose conversion from an Exhibit 10 to a two-way was completed entirely for procedural reasons. Doing so allowed the Rockets to negotiate a new standard contract with Brooks (as detailed below) without having to waive him.
Two-way contracts to standard contracts:
A player who is on a two-way contract can have his deal unilaterally converted a one-year, minimum-salary contract by his team (or a two-year, minimum-salary contract if the player’s two-way deal covers two years, but this is rare).
However, a team generally prefers to negotiate a longer-term contract with the player in order to avoid having him reach free agency at season’s end.
When converting a player from a two-way contract to the standard roster, the team can use cap room or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to negotiate a deal of up to four years; the taxpayer mid-level exception for a deal up to three years; or the room exception, bi-annual exception, or minimum salary exception for a two-year deal.
The player must agree to any deal that is worth more than the minimum or exceeds the number of years left on his two-way pact.
Here are the players who have been converted from two-way deals to standard contracts this year, along with the terms of their new contracts, in chronological order:
- Luka Garza (Pistons): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Austin Reaves (Lakers): Two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed ($100K). Second-year team option.
- Armoni Brooks (Rockets): Four years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Garrison Mathews (Rockets): Four years, $8,230,253. First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Killian Tillie (Grizzlies): Two years, $3,803,250. Fully guaranteed.
- Sam Hauser (Celtics): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Aaron Wiggins (Thunder): Four years, $6,388,212. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Daishen Nix (Rockets): Four years, $6,000,212. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Caleb Martin (Heat): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Trendon Watford (Trail Blazers): Four years, $5,824,694. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Devontae Cacok (Spurs): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Joe Wieskamp (Spurs): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Amir Coffey (Clippers): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Jose Alvarado (Pelicans): Four years, $6,888,212. First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($1.1MM). Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- RJ Nembhard (Cavaliers): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Terry Taylor (Pacers): Three years, $3,999,614. First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed.
- Duane Washington (Pacers): Three years, $4,349,614. First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed.
- Skylar Mays (Hawks): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Wenyen Gabriel (Lakers): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Moses Brown (Cavaliers): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Kessler Edwards (Nets): Two years, minimum salary. First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Trent Forrest (Jazz): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- Ishmail Wainright (Suns): One year, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
All three of these players had to agree to the terms of their new contracts, since their teams didn’t exercise the unilateral conversion option. The Pistons and Lakers used the minimum salary exception to lock up Garza and Reaves to two-year deals, while the Rockets dipped into their non-taxpayer mid-level exception in order to go up to four years for Brooks.
Players on two-way contracts can be converted to standard deals until the last day of the regular season, so we expect to add more players to this list in the coming months.
Warriors Rumors: Kuminga, Moody, Curry, Green, Klay, Iguodala
Warriors owner Joe Lacob is high on the team’s young prospects, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who told Michael Scotto on the HoopsHype Podcast that Lacob values Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody more than other teams do right now. As a result, the odds of either rookie being included in a trade this season – for Ben Simmons or anyone else – are very low.
Lacob’s desire to develop players like Kuminga, Moody, and James Wiseman into cornerstones for the next era of Warriors basketball would seem to be at odds with Stephen Curry‘s desire to maximize the team’s current window, Slater observes. However, Curry signed a new four-year extension with Golden State this offseason and seems “pretty dead set” on finishing his career with the team, according to Slater.
Slater believes Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green would ideally like to continue playing for the Warriors and pursuing titles together for the rest of their careers. However, Slater views Green as less of a sure thing than Curry to play his entire career in Golden State, noting that Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers would “love” to acquire the former Defensive Player of the Year if the opportunity arises. Green is under contract through 2022/23.
“If another team is willing to give Draymond a contract that the Warriors aren’t in a couple of years, I could see that going differently, even if their dream scenario would be to play forever,” Slater told Scotto.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- According to Slater on the HoopsHype podcast, Klay Thompson has participated in some two-on-two workouts and some “very controlled” contact work. Mid-December is probably the earliest Thompson would come back from his Achilles tear, per Slater, who says the team would be fine with pushing Klay’s return into the new year if he doesn’t feel quite ready next month.
- If Andre Iguodala plays beyond the 2021/22 season, it would only be with the Warriors, Slater opines. Slater also expects the team to play it safe with the veteran wing during the season, resting him frequently to make sure he’s fresh for the stretch run and the postseason.
- The Warriors have assigned Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody to the G League in order to have them play in Santa Cruz’s game against the Ignite on Wednesday, tweets Slater. The two lottery picks have played very limited minutes at the NBA level so far.
Latest On Ben Simmons
4:32pm: Simmons has met with team doctors to treat a back ailment, but hasn’t been willing to discuss his mental readiness with the club’s doctors, according to a full report from Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN. He has also engaged with teammates and members of the coaching staff in one-on-one situations at the practice facility, but it’s unclear if or when he’ll rejoin full team activities.
Sources close to Simmons tell ESPN that they expect to provide updates to the Sixers once the 25-year-old is comfortable doing so.
4:03pm: There is “frustration mounting” within the Sixers over Ben Simmons‘ unwillingness to keep the team apprised of his status, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne told colleague Malika Andrews today during a TV appearance (video link).
When Simmons told the team on October 22 that he wasn’t mentally ready to play, the Sixers stopped fining him for missing practices and games and offered him any off-court resources he needed to work through the situation. However, according to Shelburne, Simmons hasn’t been accepting any of the help or resources the club has made available.
Shelburne hears that Simmons has been working with mental health professionals through the National Basketball Players Association, but “hasn’t really kept the team in the loop” on the work he’s doing or progress he’s making. Besides not sharing any updates with the 76ers, Simmons also hasn’t resumed practicing with the club, having only conducted individual workouts.
There’s “no timeline” for Simmons’ return to practices or games, according to Shelburne.
Given that Simmons wasn’t in contact with the Sixers for months during the offseason, Shelburne’s update doesn’t come as a major surprise. Simmons’ actions don’t mean his claim that he’s not mentally prepared to play wasn’t made in good faith, but there was never any real indication that he’d reversed course on his desire to not play another game as a Sixer.
Team president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has stated that he won’t be rushed into making a Simmons trade before he gets an offer he likes. And while Morey’s claim that it “could take four years” was certainly an exaggeration, it seems unlikely that any deal will happen until at least December 15, when more players around the league become trade-eligible. If Simmons maintains radio silence in the coming days and weeks, the Sixers will have to decide just how much space they’re willing to give him.