And-Ones: Offseason Moves, Coach Contracts, Kerr, Hawaii
In a three-part series for The Athletic, David Aldridge ranks the teams that he believes improved the most and least this offseason. Aldridge’s most improved team is unsurprisingly the Spurs, who won the draft lottery and selected French phenom Victor Wembanyama. The Cavaliers and Suns rank Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
In the middle section, Aldridge has the Jazz at No. 11, the Pistons at No. 15, and the Warriors at No. 20. He gives the Trail Blazers an incomplete, since there’s no way to fairly evaluate their offseason until the Damian Lillard situation is resolved.
At the bottom end, the defending-champion Nuggets are No. 29 on Aldridge’s list after losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency; the No. 28 team is the Raptors, who lost Fred VanVleet to Houston.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The contracts signed by Monty Williams and Gregg Popovich will be used as benchmarks by top NBA coaches going forward. As Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, a trio of accomplished head coaches — Steve Kerr (Warriors), Erik Spoelstra (Heat) and Tyronn Lue (Clippers), all of whom are members of Team USA — could be the primary beneficiaries of those deals. Kerr and Spoelstra are entering the final year of their respective contracts, while Lue has two years left on his deal, Windhorst notes.
- Kerr has purchased a minority stake in European football (soccer) club Real Mallorca, according to Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez of ESPN. Kerr said he was offered the opportunity by longtime friend Andy Kohlberg, who is the team’s president and recently became majority owner, per ESPN. “Andy Kohlberg and I have been friends for many years,” Kerr said. “We were together this summer. He told me there was a shift in the ownership group and he offered me the chance to be part of the new investment group. I was so excited, having been in Mallorca last summer watching a game, following the team and becoming a fan. It was a really exciting opportunity and I jumped at it.” Mallorca competes in La Liga, Spain’s top league.
- The Jazz and Clippers will be playing their first preseason game in Hawaii on October 8, with all proceeds going to the wildfire relief effort, Ryan Kostecka writes for Utah’s team website.
World Cup Notes: White, Maluach, Bodganovic, Batum
Thunder forward Jack White will be playing for Team Australia during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which tips off at 3 a.m. CT early tomorrow morning. However, as Tom Hersz writes for NBL.com.au, White was very nearly left off the roster — he was set to be the odd man out, but Rockets center Jock Landale sustained an ankle injury during the team’s final exhibition game in Melbourne last week, creating an opening.
White, who signed a two-year deal with OKC this summer, says he’s excited to represent his home country.
“Excited to try and help this group try to get a gold medal,” White said. “It’s been our goal all camp, it’s been our standard now for the last couple of years, especially after Tokyo. But this is a dream come true for me and [I’m] just excited to do everything I can to help us win.”
Here are a few more notes ahead of the World Cup:
- At 16 years old, South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach is the third-youngest participant in World Cup history, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The 7’2″ big man, who plays in the NBA Africa Academy in Senegal, is considered an “elite prospect” for the 2025 draft class, Givony writes. “He has a great feel for the game,” South Sudan basketball federation president Luol Deng told ESPN. “Good court awareness, amazing skill set. He has made a huge improvement. At the same time, he needs to improve on everything. Sharpen every part of his game, as you expect from a 16-year-old. That’s what makes him scary. He still has so much room to grow. But he has a great spirit, is always smiling and is hungry to learn. Everyone loves being around him, and that’s why it’s been so easy to welcome him into the team.”
- Hawks swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic is used to being a play-maker, but he’ll have the ball in his hands even more for Serbia in the absences of Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic. Still, he says his role won’t be all that different than he’s used to in the NBA, as Eurohoops relays. “I play the same way here and there, now with maybe more minutes,” Bogdanovic said. “In Atlanta, I have a similar role, my teammates look for me, and the defense is more focused and we use that. Here they are a little different and then the game adapts more.”
- Two of the tournament’s top contenders will square off on day one, with Canada set to face France in Group H. Clippers forward Nicolas Batum says the French national team is eager for the challenge. “We have a big game ahead of us but that’s why we are here. We can’t wait to start the tournament,” Batum said, per Eurohoops.
Atlantic Notes: Lawsuit, Knicks, Raptors, Warren, Stevens
While the Knicks made some bold claims in their lawsuit against the Raptors, people around the NBA aren’t convinced it’s as big of a scandal as it might seem on paper, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
“I’m not being dismissive of this,” a league executive told Grange. “But people take stuff all the time (when they change jobs). Yes, it’s proprietary, but it’s usually their own product; work that they’ve done over time. So, without knowing the sensitivity level or what was taken or how egregious it was, it’s not something I’d care about that much.
“And timing matters, too. If it was mid-season and he was taking stuff for the current year, or the upcoming season, I might be more upset about it, but if it’s from the previous year, I don’t know if I’d be all that mad.”
As Grange writes, the NBA is a copycat league, so proving that the “confidential Knicks information” that was allegedly taken by former employee Ikechukwu Azotam was truly invaluable might be difficult. There’s a reason the Knicks left the damages they’re seeking as “TBD” — they probably don’t know what exactly was taken and if it will materially impact their business, a lawyer told Grange.
Ultimately, Grange thinks the lawsuit is unlikely to go to court and will probably be handled by the NBA. He suggests Toronto might face a six-figure fine and perhaps the loss of a second-round pick.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Head coach Tom Thibodeau will likely gripe about the Knicks‘ schedule for the 2023/24 season, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post (subscriber link). After being tied with the Hornets for the fewest games (five) with “rest advantage” last season, the Knicks have eight such games during the upcoming campaign — tied for fifth-fewest in the league, per Braziller. Rest advantage is exactly what it implies — games in which a team will be more rested than the opponent. The Celtics lead the league with 16 rest advantage games, Braziller notes.
- The Celtics are working out — or have worked out — a number of veteran free agent wings, including T.J. Warren and Lamar Stevens. Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston considers whether Warren and/or Stevens would be good fits for the back end of the roster.
- In case you missed it, the NBA fined Sixers star James Harden $100K for recent comments he made, but the Players Association disagreed with Harden’s fine and is filing a grievance on his behalf.
Giannis On Future With Bucks, Career Goals, More
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo recently sat down for an honest, insightful interview with Tania Ganguli of The New York Times, which is worth reading in full for any NBA fan.
As Ganguli writes, the two-time MVP is eligible for a three-year extension in a few weeks, worth a projected $173MM. However, Antetokounmpo has no intention of inking a new deal before the 2023/24 season starts — as he notes, he could make more money if he waits until next offseason, but that certainly doesn’t sound like a lock, either.
“The real question’s not going to be this year — numbers wise it doesn’t make sense,” Antetokounmpo said. “But next year, next summer it would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don’t know. … I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do. And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.”
The 28-year-old is technically under contract through ’25/26, but that final season is a player option. He will make a guaranteed $94.4MM over the next two seasons, and could hit free agency in 2025.
Interestingly, Antetokounmpo says he considered walking away from basketball during the ’20/21 campaign. He had lost his joy for the game, according to Ganguli, but rediscovered it with the help of his older brother and teammate, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, as well as the assistance of a sports psychologist. The season culminated in Milwaukee’s second NBA championship, 50 years removed from the first.
“I think it’s the best feeling that I’ve felt so far in basketball,” Giannis told Ganguli.
In an ideal world, the seven-time All-NBA big man would like to spend his entire career with the Bucks. He has a goal of playing 20 seasons, and he’s halfway there.
“But at the end of the day, being a winner, it’s over that goal,” Antetokounmpo said. “Winning a championship comes first. I don’t want to be 20 years on the same team and don’t win another championship.”
International Notes: Evans, Montero, Babkov, History
Former NBA guard Tyreke Evans is mulling a move to Europe in order to continue his professional career, according to Tomer Givati of Israel Hayom (Twitter link).
Evans, 33, was dismissed and disqualified from the NBA in May 2019 for violating the league’s anti-drug program. He was reinstated in February 2022 and subsequently tried out for several teams — and briefly played for the Bucks’ G League affiliate — but has been unable to find another NBA opportunity.
The fourth overall pick of the 2009 draft, Evans was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2009/10 after averaging 20.1 points, 5.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 72 games with the Kings. Unfortunately, he was never quite able to match that debut, but he still played 594 regular season games over 10 seasons with Sacramento, New Orleans, Memphis and Indiana.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Evans catches on with a European team for the 2023/24 season.
Here are a few more international notes:
- Guard Jean Montero, who hails from the Dominican Republic and is representing his country in the upcoming World Cup, is reportedly nearing a deal with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, reports David Rodriguez of Spanish outlet La Provincia (hat tip to Eurohoops). Montero was one of the top undrafted players in 2022, and part of the reason his Exhibit 10 contract with the Knicks never materialized is because he had a significant buyout clause with Spain’s Gran Carania. According to Rodriguez, Efes is willing to pay Montero’s buyout – worth 500K Euros – in order to sign the 20-year-old.
- Sergei Babkov, who won two World Cup silver medals with Russia in the 1990s and had a lengthy international career, has passed away at age 56, as Eurohoops relays.
- In an interesting story for HoopsHype, Jake Uitti details how the NBA became such a popular game around the globe, with top international players dominating the league in recent years and the percentage of international players continuing to grow over time.
Knicks File Lawsuit Against Raptors, Former NYK Employee
The Knicks filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging that former employee Ikechukwu Azotam “illegally took thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position” with the Raptors, which he then shared with his new club, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter thread).
Azotam, who was hired away by Toronto this offseason, allegedly shared the proprietary information with “several members” of the team, including head coach Darko Rajakovic and player development coach Noah Lewis, Begley adds.
The lawsuit alleges Azotam signed a confidentiality agreement with the Knicks which required him “to maintain the secrecy of all confidential or proprietary Knicks information.” A source tells Begley the Knicks contacted both the Raptors and the NBA prior to filing the lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.
According to Begley, the lawsuit also alleges that the Raptors “directed Azotam to misuse his access to the Knicks’ subscription to Synergy Sports to create and then transfer to the Raptors Defendants over 3,000 files consisting of film information and data.”
A Madision Square Garden Sports spokesperson released a statement to Begley regarding the lawsuit (Twitter thread).
“The New York Knicks have sued the Toronto Raptors and several members of their organization, including a former Knicks employee, after the former employee illegally took thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position with the Toronto Raptors. These files include confidential information such as play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files and materials and more.
“Given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this action.”
[UPDATE: Raptors Respond To Lawsuit]
In addition to Azotam, Rajakovic, and Lewis, 10 other Raptors employees are also accused of wrongdoing, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. Those employees are currently unknown — they’re listed as John Does “1” through “10.”
Thunder Sign Olivier Sarr To Two-Way Deal
The Thunder have brought back Olivier Sarr, announcing in a press release that they have re-signed the free agent big man to another two-way contract.
While Oklahoma City has an open two-way slot, the team was unable to fill it until now because it was at the offseason limit of 21 players under contract. The Thunder created a roster opening this morning when they released Usman Garuba, which allowed them to sign Sarr.
Sarr went undrafted in 2021 after four college seasons — he spent his first three campaigns at Wake Forest before finishing up at Kentucky. He signed a training camp deal with the Thunder in October 2021 and was promptly waived, spending part of 2021/22 with their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
During the COVID-19 outbreak that winter, the French center signed a pair of 10-day hardship deals with the Thunder, then inked a two-way contract in February 2022. He played well at the NBA level as a rookie, averaging 7.0 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 22 games (19.1 MPG), but the Thunder opted to cut him just before the season ended in April.
Sarr caught on with the Trail Blazers prior to ’22/23, initially signing an Exhibit 10 contract which was converted into a two-way deal after he impressed during preseason. However, he sustained a torn ligament in his wrist last fall, which caused Portland to release him in mid-November.
The 24-year-old signed a G League deal with the Blue after recovering from the injury, averaging 12.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.9 APG and 2.4 BPG in 12 regular season games. His play in the NBAGL earned Sarr a promotion in February to a two-way deal. He finished last season with the Thunder, averaging 4.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in nine games (12.7 MPG).
Sarr was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but the Thunder didn’t give him a qualifying offer, making him unrestricted. Either way, he’s back with OKC on a two-way contract.
Grant Riller To Play In China
Free agent guard Grant Riller has agreed to a contract with the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources tell Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. The deal includes an NBA opt-out clause, Borghesan adds.
Riller, 26, was the 56th overall pick of the 2020 draft by the Hornets. He spent his rookie season on a two-way deal with Charlotte, appearing in seven NBA games for a total of 27 minutes. The Hornets chose not to give him a qualifying after 2020/21, making him an unrestricted free agent.
In ’21/22, Riller caught on with the Sixers on a two-way deal, but unfortunately his stint was plagued by injuries — he sustained a torn meniscus in October 2021 and then sustained a shoulder injury the following month that required surgery. Due to the lengthy recovery timeline, the Sixers waived Riller in December 2021.
Riller worked out for multiple teams last summer after recovering from the injury, ultimately signing a short-lived training camp deal with Dallas in the fall (he was waived the same day). He spent the ’22/23 season playing for the Texas Legends, the Mavs’ NBA G League affiliate, averaging 21.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds on .520/.324/.808 shooting in 26 regular season games (27.7 minutes per contest).
The Royal Fighters, who are coached by former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury, finished last season with a 16-26 record, 15th out of 20 CBA teams.
Eastern Notes: Hayes, Pistons, Queen, Bulls, Skyhawks
Killian Hayes was Troy Weaver‘s first draft choice when he became general manager of the Pistons, having been selected No. 7 overall in 2020. Three years later, the guard’s future with Detroit is uncertain.
As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag, the Pistons have drafted guards Cade Cunningham (No. 1 overall in 2021) and Jaden Ivey (No. 5 overall in 2022) since Hayes was picked. This offseason, they traded up in June’s draft to acquire former Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall), and sent out a future second-round pick to land veteran guard Monte Morris from the Wizards.
Where does that leave Hayes? In Edwards’ view, the Pistons will either trade the 22-year-old before the 2023/24 season starts, or they added backcourt depth in order to “light a fire” under the young guard so he’ll have to earn his minutes.
Edwards also touches on some other topics, including who might take the backup center job between James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III. For what it’s worth, Edwards thinks Bagley is a better player right now, but acknowledges Wiseman might have more upside.
Here’s more from the East:
- Trevelin Queen will be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Queen’s one-year training camp deal is non-guaranteed and worth the veteran’s minimum. If he’s waived before the season starts, he could earn a bonus of up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Osceola Magic, the team’s G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, and Orlando does have a two-way opening, as our tracker shows.
- Re-signing forward Terry Taylor to a two-year, minimum-salary contract might be the final offseason move for the Bulls, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Having Taylor and Carlik Jones on non-guaranteed deals creates financial flexibility for the Bulls, who now have 15 players on standard deals and all three two-way slots filled, Johnson notes. It’s worth noting that Chicago is virtually certain to add some players on Exhibit 10 deals ahead of training camp, though those are often geared more toward filling out the G League roster.
- The College Park Skyhawks — the Hawks‘ NBAGL affiliate — have announced Daniel Starkman as their new general manager and confirmed that Ryan Schmidt will be their new head coach, according to a team press release. Starkman, who has been with the Hawks organization since 2015, was previously Atlanta’s senior manager of basketball operations. Schmidt was head coach of the British Basketball League’s London Lions last season. He will also be an assistant coach with the Hawks under Quin Snyder.
Magic To Sign Trevelin Queen
The Magic are signing free agent guard Trevelin Queen to a one-year contract, his agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Queen went undrafted in 2020 out of New Mexico State. He has spent most of his three pro seasons playing in the NBA G League, winning the NBAGL’s MVP award in 2021/22.
The 26-year-old signed with the Sixers last summer, but was waived during the preseason and caught on with the Pacers on a two-way deal a few days later. He spent most of 2022/23 with Indiana, but was waived at the end of March.
Queen has appeared in a total of 17 NBA games while on two-way contracts with the Rockets and Pacers over the past two seasons. He holds modest averages of 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds on .355/.282/1.000 shooting in 8.5 minutes per contest.
Queen once again put up big numbers at the G League level in ’22/23, including averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game in 11 Showcase Cup contests (35.7 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 24 NBAGL regular season games, he put up 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG. He was named as a participant in the Next Up Game at All-Star weekend.
However, Queen did have some issues with three-point shooting (26.5% on 7.1 attempts per regular season game) and turnovers (3.8 per game) in the G League this season. He also earned a one-game suspension in March for “directing threatening language” toward a referee, which may have been a factor in the Pacers’ decision to release him.
While the terms of Queen’s contract are currently unknown, it seems unlikely that it will contain much — if any — guaranteed money. The Magic have 15 players on standard contracts (14 guaranteed), including Jonathan Isaac, whose $17.4MM contract is partially guaranteed for $7.6MM. Orlando also has an open two-way slot.
Perhaps Queen’s deal will feature Exhibit 10 language. In that scenario, if he’s released before ’23/24 starts, he could receive a $75K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Osceola Magic. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals.