Bucks Notes: Griffin, Coach Search, Giannis, Budenholzer, More
The Bucks have been granted permission to interview Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin for their head coaching vacancy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
After a nine-year NBA career, Griffin quickly made the transition to coaching. He actually got his start as an assistant with Milwaukee back in 2008/09, Wojnarowski notes.
Griffin has also been an assistant with Chicago, Orlando, Oklahoma City. He has been with Toronto since ’18/19.
The 48-year-old has interviewed (or was expected to interview) for nearly every open head coaching job over the past season-plus, including the vacancies that popped up after the ’22/23 season concluded for the Rockets, Pistons, Raptors and now the Bucks. Griffin just completed his 15th season as an assistant.
Here’s more on the Bucks:
- While general manager Jon Horst has shown an openness to interviewing a wide range of candidates, the fact that he went with an experienced head coach who’d had previous success during Milwaukee’s coaching search in 2018 might inform how he’ll approach the process this time around, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Horst has stated that expectations are much higher now than five years ago, so he will likely once again value experience and winning, Nehm notes.
- Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo took to Instagram to thank former head coach Mike Budenholzer, posting photos of the two embracing after winning the championship in 2021, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. “Thank you for five meaningful years Coach,” Antetokounmpo wrote. “We accomplished something unbelievable and I’m forever grateful.”
- Antetokounmpo had been named to the All-Defensive First Team for four straight seasons prior to ’22/23, but despite finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, he didn’t make either of the two All-Defensive teams this season. He took to social media again to voice his apparent displeasure at the snub, per Christopher Kuhagen of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m tired of the disrespect. I’m coming,” the former Defensive Player of the Year wrote.
- Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently joined Michael Scotto on the HoopsHype podcast to discuss the Bucks’ coaching search, possible offseason moves, how the new CBA will affect the team, and more.
Bucks’ Jrue Holiday Named Teammate of the Year
Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has been voted the 2022/23 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year, the NBA announced in a press release. A panel of league executives select the 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, while current players vote on the winner.
The award “recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and a role model to other players, and commitment and dedication to team,” per the NBA.
Here are the 12 finalists, listed in order of their total points received (players received 10 points for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one point for fifth place):
- Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee (1,359)
- Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn (1,190)
- Stephen Curry, Golden State (1,117)
- Derrick Rose, New York (1,097)
- Udonis Haslem, Miami (1,023)
- Damian Lillard, Portland (857)
- Harrison Barnes, Sacramento (772)
- Damion Lee, Phoenix (666)
- Darius Garland, Cleveland (547)
- Grant Williams, Boston (535)
- Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis (497)
- Aaron Gordon, Denver (376)
It’s the second straight Teammate of the Year award for Holiday, and third in the past four seasons. Lillard won in ’20/21. The only other active player to have won the award is Minnesota guard Mike Conley, who took it home in ’18/19 with Memphis. The award was introduced in ’12/13.
2023 NBA Offseason Preview: Indiana Pacers
Many league observers expected the Pacers to be among the NBA’s tanking teams in 2022/23 after trading away veterans at the 2022 deadline (Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Caris LeVert) and last offseason (Malcolm Brogdon) in favor of younger players and draft picks.
Instead, Indiana was highly competitive for much of the season. Last fall, 62.8% of our readers picked the Pacers to finish under 23.5 wins – they had 24 by January 24 and wound up with 35.
For the first half of the season it looked like the Pacers were in a strong position to make the play-in tournament – they were 23-18 on January 8 after winning six of seven games. Unfortunately, rising star Tyrese Haliburton was injured against the Knicks on January 11, and the Pacers lost nine of 10 without their best player.
That stretch hurt their momentum, and while they were only a half-game out of the 10th spot as recently as March 11, the Pacers decided to rest Haliburton and Myles Turner down the stretch due to nagging injuries and to improve their lottery odds.
After winning a tiebreaker with Washington, the Pacers will enter next week’s lottery with the seventh-best odds of landing the top overall pick and a chance to draft Victor Wembanyama.
The Pacers’ Offseason Plan:
Indiana only has five free agents (including both two-way players) entering the offseason, and president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has already said that the team’s interest in bringing back Oshae Brissett, James Johnson and George Hill hinges on what happens during the draft and the early days of free agency.
If the Pacers renounce all of their cap holds, they’ll have about $27MM in cap room to work with to shore up their defense and rebounding, which head coach Rick Carlisle said will be a priority. In addition to their own lottery pick, the Pacers control two late first-rounders from the aforementioned trades (No. 26 via Cleveland and No. 29 via Boston).
They also have two second-rounders, though the more valuable one could move 18 spots depending on what happens in the draft lottery. If Houston picks ahead of San Antonio in the first round, the Pacers will control the No. 50 pick. If the Spurs get the higher lottery pick, Indiana would instead get No. 32.
The Pacers will certainly look to be active during the draft and free agency — Pritchard has expressed an openness to packaging the team’s plethora of draft picks to improve the roster. Haliburton said after the season that the Pacers will be aiming for the playoffs next season, and that seems reasonable – they were 28-28 in games he played this season, a solid record for a team that was prioritizing the development of its young players.
Speaking of Haliburton, the All-Star guard is eligible for a rookie scale extension, and I view him as basically a lock to receive a max deal. Both Pritchard and Carlisle have spoken glowingly about his leadership both on and off the court, calling him “the face of the franchise” and a “partner” who is likely have a say in personnel moves going forward.
Aaron Nesmith, who was acquired in the Brogdon trade, had an up-and-down first two seasons with Boston, but he had a consistent role and played much better in his first campaign with Indiana, averaging 10.1 PPG and 3.8 RPG while shooting 36.6% on three-pointers and playing solid defense in 73 games, including 60 starts (24.9 MPG). Like Haliburton, he’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal gets done if it’s relatively team-friendly — perhaps in the $10-12MM per year range.
The other notable extension-eligible player is sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who had one of his best all-around seasons in ‘22/23, averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.2 SPG on .458/.425/.822 shooting in 80 games (73 starts, 31.0 MPG). However, while Pritchard praised Hield’s impact both on and off the court, he was noncommittal about offering a new deal to the 30-year-old.
Of the players on guaranteed contracts, Daniel Theis’ spot on the roster is the most tenuous. He’ll be making $9.1MM in ‘23/24 and barely played at all this season – he could be included in a trade as part of salary ballast, but his value is basically nonexistent at that price point. Chris Duarte might be worth keeping an eye on too, as he struggled through injuries in his second season and was surpassed in the pecking order by rookies Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard.
Turner was involved in trade rumors for several years, including in ’22/23. But after renegotiating his contract and signing an extension, I think he’ll be staying put — he had the best season of his career and thrived alongside Haliburton.
With point guard, shooting guard and center seemingly secured for the foreseeable future, small forward and power forward will almost certainly be the Pacers’ biggest offseason targets. Nesmith is a solid role player, but he was very undersized at power forward and probably projects as more of a decent starter than a plus one.
Someone like OG Anunoby, who’s entering his age-26 season and just earned an All-Defensive nod, would be a good fit, but I’m not sure how willing the Raptors are to trade him (or if it’s worth it to go after him if their asking price is too high).
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
Myles Turner ($20,975,000)- Buddy Hield ($19,279,841)
- Daniel Theis ($9,108,386)
- T.J. McConnell ($8,700,000)
- Bennedict Mathurin ($6,916,080)
- Tyrese Haliburton ($5,808,435)
- Aaron Nesmith ($5,634,257)
- Jalen Smith ($5,043,773)
- Chris Duarte ($4,124,400)
- Jordan Nwora ($3,000,000)
- Isaiah Jackson ($2,696,280)
- Andrew Nembhard ($2,131,905)
- Total: $93,418,357
Dead/Retained Salary
- Nik Stauskas ($702,311)
- Juwan Morgan ($576,230)
- Malik Fitts ($555,217)
- Total: $1,833,758
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 7 overall ($6,516,000)
- Note: This is only a placeholder until the draft order is determined via the lottery.
- No. 26 overall ($2,499,480)
- No. 29 overall ($2,394,960)
- No. 50 overall (no cap hold)
- Note: The Pacers would instead receive the No. 32 overall pick if the Spurs end up with a higher first-round pick than the Rockets via the lottery.
- Note: The Pacers would instead receive the No. 32 overall pick if the Spurs end up with a higher first-round pick than the Rockets via the lottery.
- No. 55 overall (no cap hold)
- Total: $11,410,440
Extension-Eligible Players
- Buddy Hield (veteran)
- T.J. McConnell (veteran)
- Daniel Theis (veteran)
- Aaron Nesmith (rookie scale)
- Tyrese Haliburton (rookie scale)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- George Hill ($5,200,000 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Oshae Brissett ($1,989,698 cap hold): Bird rights
- James Johnson ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Lance Stephenson ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $11,169,094
Note: Stephenson’s cap hold remains on the Pacers’ books from a prior season because it hasn’t been renounced. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Room exception: $7,609,000
Draft Notes: Tshiebwe, Kings, Powell, Domask, Kaluma
The Kings hosted a pre-draft workout on Wednesday featuring six prospects, including Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe, a league source tells James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter link). The other five players aren’t yet known.
Tshiebwe was named AP Player of the Year in 2021/22 for the Wildcats and followed that up with a spot on the All-America Second Team in ’22/23 after averaging 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block in 32 games (33.6 minutes). He is expected to attend the draft combine next week.
Sacramento controls the 24th, 38th (or 37th, if Washington picks ahead of Indiana in the lottery) and 54th picks in the 2023 NBA draft. Tshiebwe is currently ranked No. 66 on ESPN’s big board as he tests the draft waters while maintaining his final year of college eligibility.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Junior guard Justin Powell, who has played for three college teams – most recently Washington State this past season – has worked out for the Warriors, Celtics, Jazz and Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter). Powell has converted an impressive 41.9% of his three-point looks during his college career. Like Tshiebwe, he’s testing the draft waters.
- Forward Marcus Domask has withdrawn from the draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). After a standout four-year career at Southern Illinois, Domask will be transferring to Illinois for his fifth and final season, per Rothstein.
- Creighton sophomore Arthur Kaluma, another combine invitee, is focused on staying in the draft, but he plans to transfer if he returns to college for his junior year, a source tells John Fanta of Fox Sports (Twitter links). Kaluma confirmed the news. “I am thankful for the chance to participate in the draft process and showcase my skills in front of various NBA teams,” Kaluma said, per Fanta. “After taking part in the NBA Combine and my agency’s Pro Day, I will discuss the feedback I’ve received with my family and advisors. Ultimately, I will decide whether to remain in the Draft or return to college based on what’s best for my career long-term. I want to express my gratitude to Coach McDermott and the entire Creighton community for two amazing years in Omaha.” The forward is currently No. 90 on ESPN’s board.
Chris Paul Ruled Out For Game 6; Deandre Ayton Questionable
The Suns will be without their starting point guard again for Game 6 vs. Denver on Thursday night, having ruled out Chris Paul due to the left groin strain he suffered in Game 2, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
It will be the fourth straight missed game for Paul, who was also sidelined for Games 3, 4 and 5. The Suns have gone 2-1 without him thus far, but trail the Nuggets 3-2 in their second-round series and are facing an elimination game at home.
According to Rankin, Paul had an extended workout following Wednesday’s practice, leading some to wonder if he might be able to play. Head coach Monty Williams quickly shot down that notion, however.
“You can see him on the floor working, but I’m sure that leads people to think, ‘He’s doing this, he should be here,'” Williams said. “I just don’t want to speculate on that based on the reports coming that are coming back to me that tell me that nothing has changed as far as availability, but he is doing more, for sure.”
Deandre Ayton is listed as questionable for Game 6 after taking a hard shot to the ribs in Game 5, Rankin adds. The center expressed optimism about being available tomorrow following Game 5, and it sounds like his status is precautionary.
“He seems like he’s OK, but he’s going to get it checked out,” Williams said.
Kings Notes: Sabonis, Brown, Vezenkov, Lyles, Offseason
Kings center Domantas Sabonis received a $1.3MM bonus for being named to the All-NBA Third Team on Wednesday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
The 27-year-old had a career year in his first full season with Sacramento, appearing in 79 games (34.6 MPG) while averaging 19.1 PPG and a league-leading 12.3 RPG. He also posted career highs in assists (7.3) and field goal percentage (61.5%) in helping lead the Kings to the No. 3 seed in the West, snapping their record-long playoff drought in the process.
Sabonis previously earned a $1.3MM bonus earlier in 2022/23 for making his third All-Star team. Both bonuses were considered unlikely this season, but that will change for next season — his cap hit for ’23/24 will now be $22MM instead of $19.4MM due to those bonuses being considered likely.
Here’s more out of Sacramento:
- In an interview with Greek outlet Sportal.gr (YouTube link), head coach Mike Brown spoke glowingly about Olympiacos star Sasha Vezenkov, whose NBA rights are controlled by the Kings. Brown traveled overseas to watch Vezenkov — a favorite for EuroLeague MVP — compete in the playoffs. “The way we play, he fits in really good,” Brown said. “He shoots the three ball. He’s got size. He’s got toughness. He rebounds. All those things are exciting with the way we play the game of basketball, so we’ll let him finish out his season, and then we’ll make decisions from there.” Brown added that the Kings were “highly, highly intrigued” with the 27-year-old.
- James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com explores Trey Lyles‘ impending free agency and how he might fit in long term with the Kings, noting that the reserve big man has been open about his desire to return to Sacramento.
- Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee provides his offseason preview for the Kings. How they’ll use their three draft picks and if they’ll re-sign Harrison Barnes are among the big questions the team faces.
- In case you missed it, point guard De’Aaron Fox also earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team. If he makes another All-NBA team in ’23/24 or ’24/25, he’ll be eligible for a super-max extension in 2025.
Eastern Notes: Hawks, Quickley, Rubio, Celtics, Redick
The Hawks held pre-draft workouts with six college players on Thursday and will be hosting six more on Friday, the team announced (Twitter links).
Thursday’s group featured Alex Fudge (Florida), Logan Johnson (St. Mary’s), Matthew Mayer (Illinois), Kevin Obanor (Texas Tech), Antonio Reeves (Kentucky) and Hunter Tyson (Clemson), while Marcus Carr (Texas), Kendric Davis (Memphis), Tosan Evbuomwan (Princeton), Landers Nolley (Cincinnati), Drew Peterson (USC) and Erik Stevenson (West Virginia) will be working out tomorrow.
Of the players mentioned, only Evbuomwan — who helped lead the 15th-seeded Tigers to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament — appears on ESPN’s top-100 prospects list ahead of the draft; he’s considered a fringe second-round pick at No. 77. The Hawks control the 15th and 46th overall picks in June’s draft.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Trailing 3-1 and facing playoff elimination tonight, the Knicks will be without Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley for the second straight game due to a left ankle sprain, head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters, including Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Thibodeau did say the third-year guard’s injury has improved, but obviously not enough to play. He’s still considered day-to-day, Begley adds. Reserve guard Evan Fournier (illness) will also be sidelined, per the Knicks (Twitter link) — the veteran has yet to play this postseason.
- Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio didn’t have the season he was hoping for after returning from his second left ACL tear, but he and the team are hoping for better results in 2023/24, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor the Cavs are encouraging Rubio to play in this summer’s World Cup for Spain, but the veteran hasn’t made a decision on that front. “I think it will help,” Rubio said. “I’m going to meet with my team, my personal team, see what’s the best for me in rehab. I think I’ve got to get more even strength on my lower legs, lower body and see what’s the best for me. I always want to compete up. The World Cup is something special as well. But I will take my time.”
- Former NBA veteran JJ Redick, who is now an ESPN analyst, recently interviewed for Toronto’s head coaching job. The Celtics are among “several teams” that have shown interest in hiring Redick as an assistant coach since he retired a couple years ago, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
NBA Announces 2022/23 All-NBA Teams
The NBA has officially announced its All-NBA teams for the 2022/23 season.
A total of 100 media members vote on the All-NBA awards. Players received five points for a First Team vote, three points for Second Team, and one point for Third Team, for a maximum total of 500 points. This year’s three All-NBA teams are as follows:
First Team
- Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (500 total points)
- Forward: Jayson Tatum, Celtics (484)
- Center: Joel Embiid, Sixers (474)
- Guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (407)
- Guard: Luka Doncic, Mavericks (403)
Second Team
- Center: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (364)
- Guard: Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers (349)
- Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors (188)
- Forward: Jimmy Butler, Heat (182)
- Forward: Jaylen Brown, Celtics (169)
Third Team
- Center: Domantas Sabonis, Kings (147)
- Guard: De’Aaron Fox, Kings (144)
- Guard: Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers (137)
- Forward: Julius Randle, Knicks (125)
- Forward: LeBron James, Lakers (81)
A total of 37 players received at least one vote, per the NBA. The top vote-getters who wound up missing out on All-NBA spots were Lakers center Anthony Davis (65), Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (49) and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (44).
Morant had Rose Rule language in his rookie scale extension, meaning his five-year deal would have started at 30% of next season’s cap had he been voted in; instead, he’ll receive 25% of the cap, which is projected to be a difference of about $39MM across five seasons.
Other players receiving 20-plus points include Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (39), Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (23). The next three highest were Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (15), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (15) and Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves (14), who is listed under forward but spent most of the season at shooting guard.
As we noted earlier today, both of the Celtics’ top two players will now be eligible for Designated Veteran Extensions, also known as the super-max: Brown will be eligible to sign a five-year extension this offseason that starts at up to 35% of the 2024/25 salary cap, while Tatum will be eligible to sign a super-max extension in 2024 after earning All-NBA nods each of the past two seasons.
Like Brown, Siakam would have been eligible for a super-max extension this summer had he made an All-NBA team. He finished a distant ninth, so his maximum extension will now be worth a projected $192.2MM over four years, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), Siakam could still qualify for a super-max deal if he makes an All-NBA spot next season as an impending free agent.
This will be the last season under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. In the new CBA, All-NBA voting will be positionless and players will be required to play a minimum of 65 games to earn major regular season awards. Five of the players honored today — Antetokounmpo, Curry, Butler, Lillard and James — played fewer than 65 this season and would have been ineligible if the new requirements had been in effect, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
LeBron extended his own NBA record with his selection, earning a spot on an All-NBA team for the 19th straight season, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). No other player has more than 15 total All-NBA awards (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are tied for second at 15 apiece).
Giannis was a unanimous First Team selection for the fifth straight season, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link), and the only unanimous choice in 2022/23. Antetokounmpo now has more First Team berths than any European-born player, tweets HoopsHype, and only trails Hakeem Olajuwon among international players (six). The Bucks superstar finished third in MVP voting behind Embiid and Jokic, but Jokic received some First Team votes over the Sixers’ MVP winner, which is why Embiid wasn’t a unanimous pick.
According to HoopsHype (Twitter link), this is the first season in league history that only one American player (Tatum) was voted to the First Team. Doncic (Slovenia) and Antetokounmpo (Greece) are European, Embiid was born in Cameroon, and Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian.
Despite earning an All-NBA nod for the first time, Mitchell wasn’t happy that he didn’t make the First Team, sending out a tweet on the matter.
Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Brooks, Bane, Pelicans, Daniels
The Grizzlies weren’t thrilled with the framing or leaking of the story about Dillon Brooks not being brought back “under any circumstances,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on his Howdy Partners podcast (YouTube link).
“The Grizzlies did not want the messaging out there of, basically, ‘Dillon Brooks is a scapegoat. We’re dumping Dillon Brooks and everything is going to be fine.’ They were fine with the way (GM) Zach Kleiman left it at the exit interviews with the media,” MacMahon said.
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the quotes from Kleiman.
“I’ll hit on (Brooks) another day,” Kleiman said. “Nothing I can comment on for now with him going into free agency.”
Multiple members of the team, including Kleiman, talked about toning down the trash-talking, while Brooks said it was part of who he is, according to Cole.
“We’re going to take a different approach as it pertains to (trash talk) next season,” Kleiman said. “You’ll see a different approach from this team, but at the same time, confidence is important. .. There’s a line there, certainly.”
As MacMahon observes, it was pretty easy to read between the lines and realize that Brooks was highly unlikely to be re-signed, but the Grizzlies didn’t want to throw him under the bus, either.
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the story on Brooks. Brooks’ agent, Mike George of OneLegacy Sports Management, lit into Charania for his report. “@ShamsCharania the leader of spreading false news and attacking players. Why any player in the league talks to this guy blows my mind. #weirdo,” George tweeted.
- In an appearance on Stephen A.’s World with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (YouTube link), Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane praised Brooks. “Things like this happen,” Bane said. “You know, it’s part of the business. There ain’t no telling whether he’s gonna be back with us or with another team in the future. … Whatever happens for him I’m gonna be cheering, hopefully it’s with us, but if not, I’ll be rooting for him — as long as it’s not in the Western Conference.”
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at what’s next for Brooks and the Grizzlies following the news of his impending departure, noting that a sign-and-trade might be the best chance for Memphis to replace his salary slot.
- Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels had a strong rookie season on the defensive end, but he knows he has a lot of work to do on offense to make the impact he wants going forward, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “For me, I was disappointed how it went this year,” said Daniels, who plans to play in Summer League. “I think I could have made more of an impact. But for me, it’s about learning now and getting the work in this summer and being ready for next year.”
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, William Guillory thinks it would be “extreme” for the Pelicans to explore trading Zion Williamson this summer, viewing it as a total non-starter. Williamson is too talented to deal away so early in his career despite his significant injury troubles, according to Guillory. Adding a shooter in free agency will likely be a priority for New Orleans this offseason, Guillory adds.
Pacers’ G League Affiliate Moving To Noblesville
Indiana’s NBA G League affiliate in Fort Wayne is being relocated to Noblesville, the Pacers announced in a press release. The city of Noblesville plans to build a new 3,400 seat arena at Finch Creek Park to accommodate the move.
For the 2023/24 season, the Mad Ants will keep their name but will be moving from Fort Wayne and playing in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Pacers’ home arena. According to the release, the Mad Ants’ name will be retired and a new mascot and team name will announced prior to ’24/25. The Noblesville arena is anticipated to open during the 2024/25 season.
“The G League is world-class basketball, and PS&E is proud to bring that to Noblesville as we strengthen our basketball operations and enhance player development in one of the state’s most vibrant and growing communities,” CEO Rick Fuson said. “We are excited about the way this partnership fits into the bold vision for economic development Mayor Jensen has laid out, and we can’t wait to continue growing our NBA and G League fan base right here in Hamilton County.”
It will be a 10-year partnership between PS&E and Noblesville. According to Google Maps, Gainbridge Fieldhouse is about 24 miles from Finch Creek, versus 129 miles to the arena in Fort Wayne.