Jazz Notes: Hayward, Hill, Diaw, Ingles
After being swept by the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals, the Jazz enter the offseason with one major question: Will Gordon Hayward be in Utah next season and beyond? Speaking to the media at the Jazz’s end-of-season media press conference, the former first-round pick from 2010 had nothing but the highest of praises for the team, Ryan McDonald of Deseret News Sports writes.
“It’s been so much fun for me here in Utah and growing up here, starting a family, growing from a basketball standpoint, growing from just a man standpoint,” Hayward said. “I have nothing but love for everybody in Utah.”
At 27 years old, coming off a season in which he set career-highs in PPG (21.9) and RPG (4.7), and made his first All-Star team, the Butler University product will have no shortage of potential suitors. Teammates like budding star Rudy Gobert expressed kind sentiments, telling the media that he “don’t want to see him leave because he’s a big part of what we’ve been building.” Per Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, Jazz guard George Hill expressed the belief that Hayward’s “heart is here in Utah.”
From enduring a 25-win season in 2013 to eliminating the Clippers in the playoffs this season, Hayward was a major part of making Utah a contending team. However, the 6’8″, 225-pound forward says he hasn’t given much thought to his future.
Here is additional news surrounding the Jazz:
- Hill, who is a free agent himself this offseason, expressed his desire to remain in Utah. The 31-year-old averaged 16.9 PPG and 4.1 APG in 49 regular season contests for a Jazz team that went 51-31, good for fifth place in the West. Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune noted that Hill’s family will play a role in his free agency decision but the veteran feels the Jazz have “more than enough” to compete with the team’s current core (Twitter links).
- Boris Diaw, the seasoned veteran who provided a spark off the bench, is also uncertain about a return next season. The Jazz hold an option on the 35-year-old France native, who he indicated his desire to return next season, per Genessy (via Twitter). “I’d like to be back here, but I’d definitely understand any choice that they make,” he said.
- Joe Ingles, a restricted free agent this offseason, may have the upper-hand on his teammates in regards to a return. The Jazz can match any offer he receives — and both parties have a mutual interest in a reunion, Jones reports (via Twitter). Andy Larsen of Salt City Hoops quoted Ingles, who said all of Utah’s impending free agents want to return (via Twitter).
Community Shootaround: Raptors’ Free Agents
As the Cavaliers attempt to complete a sweep of the Raptors in Toronto, the Raps could be experiencing their final moments with Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker, Serge Ibaka, and Patrick Patterson playing north of the border.
Lowry, in particular, likely won’t go out on a high note, having missed Games 3 and 4 due to a left ankle sprain. The 31-year-old was also sidelined for 18 games due to right wrist surgery toward the end of the 2016/17 campaign, so he enters free agency as a dynamic guard who is north of 30, coming off an injury-riddled season.
Still, Lowry has averaged 18.2 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 4.7 RPG over the past five seasons in Toronto, racking up three consecutive All-Star appearances. Also, the Villanova University product set career-highs in PPG (22.4) and RPG (4.8) while adding solid totals in APG (7.0) through 60 games this season. Premium facilitators are coveted in today’s game and Lowry has been one of the game’s best at his position.
After spending his first seven seasons with the Thunder, Ibaka split 2016/17 between the Magic and Raptors. Ibaka is regarded as one of the NBA’s premier defenders and while his blocks have seen a drop, his RPG (6.8) were identical to last season and he posted his best PPG total (14.8) since 2013/14. Still just 27 years old without a history of serious injuries, the versatile swingman will be plenty popular on the market.
Much like Ibaka, Tucker was a trade deadline acquisition, but was acquired more for his defensive intensity and rebounding. With 11 professional seasons under his belt at 32 years old, Tucker figures to draw interest as a solid reserve, a role he has excelled in since returning to the NBA in 2012/13. In 81 games between the Suns and Raptors this season, Tucker posted totals of 6.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG.
Finally, Patterson has — just like Tucker — been a solid role player in recent seasons, the last three-and-a-half as a member of the Raptors. This season, Patterson averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG through 65 games (eight starts). At 28, he still has relative youth on his side and will have no shortage of suitors.
With four departures there are major questions to be answered: Will the Raptors let Lowry walk and lose All-Star level production from a position of strength? Is Ibaka worth a long-term investment? Also, will Toronto be willing to pay above average salaries to career reserves who contribute solid, yet unspectacular, numbers?
Share your thoughts on the Raptors’ offseason outlook in the comments section below!
Southeast Notes: Kanter, Millsap, Bogdanovic, Magic
The Thunder may look to free up cap space this summer to lure a superstar free agent to pair with possible 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook. Trading big man Enes Kanter could be one option, as he’s owed $17.9MM next season; however, the Heat would likely not be a trade partner, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel says in his latest Ask Ira column.
Winderman is asked if a potential Tyler Johnson-for-Kanter swap makes sense given both players’ lofty contracts. However, Johnson will make just $5.9MM next season, so a hypothetical swap would cut down Miami’s cap space from $37MM to $25MM next season. Also, the Heat will likely pursue new deals with James Johnson and Dion Waiters, and committing significant dollars to Kanter is not conducive to keeping that core intact.
While the allure of having Hassan Whiteside and Kanter manning the frontcourt sounds enticing, Winderman notes that neither man is an outside shooter, which would clog the paint for the Heat.
Here are additional tidbits of news from the Southeast:
- A state of disarray surrounding the Hawks since 2013 has led to a flurry of roster-altering moves. Now, with Paul Millsap entering free agency, the team faces a major decision: dedicate significant dollars to re-sign a productive, but aging player or move on and construct a younger, more cost-effective team, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes. If Millsap departs, O’Connor notes that a frustrated and declining Dwight Howard would become the team’s primary option and recent history suggests he’s not suited for that role.
- After two tough losses to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Wizards coach Scott Brooks decided to play Bojan Bogdanovic more in Game 3, yielding strong results, per J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The former Nets forward, who will be a free agent this summer, scored 19 points in 29 minutes in Washington’s Game 3 win, prompting Brooks to admit he made a mistake not playing the sharpshooter more often. “I guess I should have gone on Twitter a few games ago, right? He’s a good player. I made a mistake, I only played him eight minutes,” Brooks quipped. “The way the game was going, we were up, things were going good and we had a chance to win the game. He’s been in a lot of big games, he’s made a lot of big shots and he’s done that for us this year.”
- Magic interim general manager Matt Lloyd has an unenviable task of rebuilding the Orlando franchise, replacing former GM Rob Hennigan and assistant GM Scott Perry, who were fired in mid-April. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines Lloyd’s decorated journey in basketball, which has included working several jobs in college, befriending key cogs in the Bulls’ 1990s dynasty and earning trust among his peers. Now, he’s prepared to earn that same trust leading the Magic. “I have a responsibility to our staff,” Lloyd said to Robbins of his role as interim GM. “I know I have a responsibility to the coaches. I have a responsibility to the players. And I have a responsibility to the organization. So every day I have the job, I’m just going to do the job. And I’m not going to worry about trying to get the job.”
Kyle Lowry Will Miss Game 4 Due To Ankle Sprain
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry will miss Sunday’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavaliers due to a left ankle sprain, according to the team’s official Twitter account.
Lowry missed Game 3 of the series due to the troublesome ankle and admitted to NBA.com that trying to play through the injury may have made it worse. The 31-year-old received treatment on the ankle yesterday and today but it did not improve enough to play in today’s potentially series-ending game.
The Cavaliers have dominated the Raptors in the postseason, winning by double-digits in each of the semifinals’ first three contests. Lowry contributed a double-double (20 points, 11 assists) in Game 1 and another productive outing (20 points, five assists) in Game 2 before going down with the injury.
Injuries have been an issue for Lowry this season as he missed 18 games late in the year due to surgery on an ailing right wrist. All told, the Villanova University product set career-highs in PPG (22.4) and RPG (4.8) while adding solid totals in APG (7.0) through 60 games.
Lowry is set to hit free agency after the season and if the Cavaliers sweep the series — or the ankle injury prevents him from playing if the series continues — the longtime Raptors point guard may have played his last game with Toronto.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Plumlee, Hawks
Despite seemingly messy breakups with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and missing the playoffs this season, the Heat are not concerned with difficulties of luring free agents to South Beach, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. As Jackson notes, Bosh and the Heat seem to be on good terms despite the controversial circumstances surrounding the former All-Star’s battles with blood clots, which prompted to Heat to not play him this season. Also, an associate of Wade tells Jackson the Miami legend is open to playing for the team again in the future.
However, the team’s ultimate calling card may be its coach, Erik Spoelstra. In addition to coaching the Heat to two NBA titles during his tenure, Spoelstra has created a culture that allows players to thrive. Heat forward James Johnson explained to Jackson that “consistency” is the coach’s strength.
“When I say consistency, I [mean] it’s doing the same thing, not giving you the same minutes every game, but consistently getting on you enough, praising you a little bit, holding me to my word,” Johnson said. “When you get a consistent coach you look up to like coach Spo, it makes things easier.”
Miami’s culture includes rigorous training, which Jackson says will deter certain veteran players who do not want to add mileage to their bodies. As Spoelstra has said, the Heat are “not for everybody.”
Here is more news from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets announced earlier this week that center Miles Plumlee underwent successful arthroscopic debridement on his right knee. The expected recovery for the 28-year-old center is six to eight weeks, so he should be good to go this fall. Plumlee was sent to Charlotte as part of a February deal that included Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert going to the Bucks. In 13 games with the Hornets, Plumlee posted totals of 2.4 PPG and 3.2 RPG.
- Former Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox was seemingly let go by Atlanta earlier this week, but will remain with the team in a different capacity. However, before that move was announced, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Wilcox had been “in contact with other NBA teams and at least one college about other positions.”
- Meanwhile, Mike Budenholzer will not retain his title as the Hawks’ president of basketball operations and will instead report — along with Wilcox — to whomever the Hawks hire to oversee basketball operations, per Vivlamore.
Pacific Notes: McGee, Lakers, Clippers, Kings
JaVale McGee has been an enigma — more often a punchline for on-court gaffes than receiving praise for his athletic ability — during his nine-year NBA career, which has included stints with five different organizations. However, the 7’0″ center has put his skill set together to be a productive part of the Warriors‘ early run the playoffs, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated writes.
In his first postseason with the Warriors, McGee is averaging 8.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and shooting the basketball at an efficient .760 clip. As McGee explains to Spears, the perception of him being a distraction has fueled him to work harder to disprove detractors: “I haven’t done [anything]. Nothing at all. I have the same perception of guys doing bad stuff, getting DUIs and things like that. I have nothing like that. It’s frustrating knowing how hard you work,” McGee said. “That is just the misconception of what people see. It’s just a testimony to keep working hard, stay positive and eventually things will work out for you.”
The Warriors swept the Trail Blazers in the opening round and currently hold a 1-0 lead over the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals. McGee’s energy and production have been a huge reason for the team’s postseason success.
Here are additional news tidbits from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers saw two key departures from the organization this week. Tim DiFrancesco, the team’s strength and conditioning coach the last six seasons, has resigned, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. In a separate update, Holmes wrote that Yuju Lee, the Lakers’ director of basketball analytics, left the team after four seasons in lieu of accepting a demotion. These departures are another change for a Lakers team that saw a significant overhaul when Magic Johnson took over as president of basketball operations in late February.
- Several NBA.com writers discussed several potential directions the Clippers may go in now that they have been eliminated from the postseason. The collection of scribes discuss Blake Griffin‘s potential plans in free agency, Chris Paul‘s future, and injuries decimating the team.
- After the Kings missed their 11th consecutive postseason, Keith P. Smith of RealGM analyzes the team’s various needs ahead of the 2017/18 offseason. Sacramento’s offseason objectives will include acquiring a point guard, trying to replace the departed DeMarcus Cousins, and figuring out Rudy Gay‘s contract situation where the oft-injured forward holds a player option for next season.
Cavs Reached Out To Kevin Garnett About NBA Comeback
The Cavaliers’ search for a viable big man during the regular season led the defending NBA champions to future Hall-of-Famer, Kevin Garnett, Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue revealed on ESPN’s NBA Lockdown Podcast.
Garnett, 40, retired following the 2015/16 campaign after 21 NBA seasons; he joined the TNT’s Inside The NBA program as an analyst and holds a role as a consultant for the Bucks and Clippers. However, when Andrew Bogut — whose Cavaliers debut lasted less than one minute — suffered a fractured left tibia, ending his season, Lue made a call to the Timberwolves legend.
“I was like, ‘Man, you should come back and play for me.’ He was like, ‘Man, you all have a lot going on over there,‘” Lue said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “That was before we hit our stride like we’re playing well now. He was like, ‘If you and [James] Posey were still playing, I would come.’ But he said, ‘But y’all are coaching and y’all are going through what you’re going through.’ He said, ‘Ah, I’m going to sit this one out.’ I said, ‘OK. We’ll call you next year.’”
With Garnett not interested, the Cavaliers ultimately turned to Larry Sanders, who left the NBA two years prior due to personal issues. His Cleveland tenure lasted just five games (13 minutes) and was mostly spent with Cleveland’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. On the final day of the regular season, the same day they waived Sanders, the Cavaliers signed Edy Tavares to fill the void. The team finished the season with a 51-31 record, good for second in the Eastern Conference.
The former NBA champion initially expressed interest in returning for a 22nd campaign in the offseason but Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor explained to NBA.com that Garnett was unsure his body would hold up.
“Then he said, ‘I don’t know if I can,‘” Taylor said. “I asked him, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ So I asked the question but I didn’t get an answer that helped me. Yes, theoretically, he’d like to play. But he has some doubts of his knees holding up. I believe he told me exactly the truth.”
While it was a no from Garnett this season, Lue’s admission that he would call KG next season leaves the door somewhat ajar for an NBA return. For now though, Garnett seems to be enjoying his new role(s) and hasn’t expressed any public interest in making a comeback.
NBA D-Leaguers To Represent Team USA In Qualifiers
The 2019 Basketball World Cup will serve as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and players from the NBA’s Developmental League will comprise most of the early Team USA men’s basketball roster leading up to that tournament, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.
The American team announced a six-member committee on Tuesday to select players — mostly from the D-League — to suit up for the USA team that will fight to qualify for the 2019 Basketball World Cup. If the roster of minor leaguers can get Team USA past that round, a Gregg Popovich-led roster of NBA talent will resume the action in the actual 2019 World Cup.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for NBA D-League players to showcase their talent and experience meaningful and important international competition while representing the United States,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said in a statement.
In the past, qualifiers and international events have been held during the NBA offseason, but some of the qualifying games for the World Cup in China will take place during the NBA season, Mahoney notes. With NBA players unavailable during that time, USA Basketball will look to become one of the 32 clubs that qualifies for the World Cup, even without its A-Team.
Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Jackson, Raptors, Johnson
The Knicks are focused on trading Carmelo Anthony and becoming a younger team, but scarce financial resources may prevent the team from landing a max free agent, ESPN’s Ian Begley writes. Free agents Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague are potential targets for New York, league sources tell Begley. However, with eight players on guaranteed contracts for next season, team president Phil Jackson said during a recent a press conference that the current team has “a dozen players that we’re very confident can support and be a part of a team. So we feel pretty good about that.”
Upgrading via free agency may be contingent on the Knicks trading Anthony, whom Jackson indicated “would be better off elsewhere” during the aforementioned presser. Begley notes that a hypothetical Melo trade could clear about $5MM in cap room, giving the Knicks $24MM — the team’s current cap space calls for $19MM available for the Knicks to spend.
However, a lot of Begley’s hypothetical offseason spending includes the Knicks not re-signing any of their young players. So if the Knicks intend on upgrading, players such as Jrue’s older brother Justin Holiday, Ron Baker, Maurice Ndour, and Chasson Randle may suit up elsewhere in 2017/18.
In other news around the Atlantic division.
- The Nets maintain interest in Euroleague guard Edwin Jackson, according to Nets Daily. An earlier report indicated the club’s interest in the 27-year-old guard, who is averaging 21.8 points in 30 games for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB in Spain. The 6’1″ French guard has never suited up for an NBA team but he was in Nets camp three years ago, per Nets Daily. Jackson has indicated he would come stateside for a guaranteed NBA deal or seek a lucrative offer in Europe.
- Nets Daily compiled a list of potential European targets for Brooklyn in addition to Jackson. Milos Teodosic, 30, Nicolo Melli, 26, and 2011 second-round NBA draft pick Tyler Honeycutt, 26, — who revived his career in Turkey — are listed as potential free agent options; Latvian-born Rodions Kurucs, 19, and Anzejus Pasecniks, 21, are both listed as possible draft targets.
- In an attempt to contain the Cavaliers’ offense, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey may start Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll on the bench, SportsNet’s Michael Grange writes. Both men — who were major signings by team president Masai Ujiri — have underperformed this postseason and Casey is “desperate” to jumpstart his team. Norman Powell and rookie Jakob Poeltl are likely to see significant playing time if Casey goes in that direction.
- As he heads for free agency, Amir Johnson remains positive despite dwindling playing time for the Celtics, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe relays. While Johnson got the start for Boston tonight in Game 2, he has been a liability on both sides of the court for most of the postseason. Johnson led the Celtics in games (80) and starts (77) in the regular season and maintains he’s trying to work out of his slump. “If things aren’t working out for you, you know you’ve got to do the next thing,” Johnson said.