Warriors Notes: Training Camp, Wiseman, Poole, DiVincenzo
Speaking to the media today, head coach Steve Kerr said the Warriors expect to have a fully healthy roster for training camp, with their first practice coming on Saturday, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links). Rookies Ryan Rollins and Patrick Baldwin Jr., who dealt with injuries this summer, will have no restrictions.
As Slater notes, it will be the first full training camp for third-year center James Wiseman, with his rookie camp disrupted by the pandemic, followed by last year’s injury-plagued season, which saw him miss all of 2021/22 after multiple knee surgeries and setbacks. Kerr said Wiseman has gained confidence in his knee and is healthy now.
“He’s healthy. He’s played in a ton of pickup games in our building (the last month)…I think he’s got a lot of confidence in that knee now. That’s the first step. The next step is finding his role within this team,” Kerr said.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- President of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers said he’ll meet with Jordan Poole‘s agents to discuss a rookie scale extension once the team returns from Tokyo in early October, according to Slater (via Twitter), who says it will be the “first substantial negotiations” about a potential deal. Golden State is playing a couple of preseason games against the Wizards in Japan on September 30 and October 1.
- Regarding the possible extensions for Poole and other veterans on the roster like Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, Myers said the price points will play a factor. “We want all those guys. Can we get them all? I don’t know. It depends on the money … we’re not at the point where we can make those decisions yet,” he said (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
- Guard Donte DiVincenzo, who signed with the Warriors as a free agent this summer, has hired a new agent. He’ll now be represented by Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management, tweets Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal.
Wizards Pick Up 2023/24 Options For Avdija, Kispert
The Wizards have picked up their 2023/24 team options for Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert, both of whom are on their rookie scale contracts, according to Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
As Robbins notes, exercising the options was a mere formality, since both players were pretty high picks and have been fairly productive. The ’23/24 season will be the fourth and final season of Avdija’s rookie deal, and the third season of Kispert’s.
Avdija, 21, was the No. 9 overall pick of the 2020 draft out of Israel. While his offense has been up-and-down, he’s shown to be a solid, versatile defender, especially last season. He appeared in all 82 games (24.2 MPG) during his second season in ’21/22, averaging 8.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 2.0 APG on .432/.317/.757 shooting. His ’23/24 option is worth $6,263,188.
Kispert, 23, was the No. 15 overall pick of last year’s draft after four years at Gonzaga. Known as a strong shooter, Kispert struggled to adjust to the NBA as a rookie for the first several months until he found his rhythm after the All-Star break. Overall, he averaged 8.2 PPG and 2.7 RPG on .455/.350/.871 shooting in 77 games (36 starts, 23.4 MPG). He’ll earn $3,722,040 in ’23/24.
The Wizards have a full 20-man roster entering training camp, including 15 players with fully guaranteed standard contracts, though they do have one two-way slot open at the moment.
Kawhi Leonard Cleared, But Clippers Will Remain Cautious
Kawhi Leonard, who missed all of last season for the Clippers while recovering from a torn ACL, has been cleared to be a full five-on-five participant in next week’s training camp, but president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says the team will remain cautious with its star forward, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“He feels great,” Frank said at the team’s practice facility. “His plan is, look, he wants to participate in everything. And I think organizationally, we’re going to be cautious. So it will be a step-by-step approach.”
“He is cleared.” Frank later added. “For him, he’ll say, look, I want to do everything. Again, we’ll be very cautious in the approach.”
Frank said it’s a balancing act between allowing Leonard to compete and preserving his health.
“There’s constant communication with seeing where he’s at,” Frank said, per Mark Medina of NBA.com. “The toughest thing is when a guy really, really wants to go ahead and try to do everything. You just assess it and just have those conversations. What everyone can agree on is, ‘What is the goal? So, what’s the best way to get there?’ If it’s close, you exercise some caution when you’re coming back from a serious injury like this.”
According to Youngmisuk, Frank was noncommittal when asked whether Leonard would play in preseason games, saying the team plans to take it one day at a time.
“When you’re dealing with a major injury, you can’t predict,” Frank said. “I know with him, he wants to do everything, but we’ll just kind of let’s see how he feels each day. We have an outstanding medical team, and we’re playing the long game with it. So we’re not going to get into predictions, what he will do or he won’t do.
“… We’ll figure out, is that best for his body? One day it may be. The next day, we’ll have to reassess. We’ll rely on the feedback we get from Kawhi, obviously from the medical team. It’s too early to predict. We have time before we need to get there.”
Frank also says Paul George‘s right elbow is fully healed, and the star forward is developing into more of a leader. George missed three months with a torn UCL in 2021/22 prior to returning at the end of the season.
“His elbow is 100 percent healthy,” Frank said, per Youngmisuk. “Paul has had an extremely purposeful, driven, and very productive off-season, in that his consistency of training has been off the charts. Plus, he continues to take more and more of an ownership and leadership role. You know, he had a lot to do with getting John Wall to come here.”
It won’t just be Leonard that the team is cautious with. The Clippers have championship aspirations and plan to rely on their depth, so periodic rest could be a store for a number of veterans throughout the season, as Andrew Grief of The Los Angeles Times relays.
“We want our guys to be able to be at their best when their best is needed, which is, you know, April, May and June,” Frank said. “So to be able to give some of those heavy load carriers [rest] where they’re not overtaxed at that time, yet there’s enough continuity that there’s rhythm there.”
Jazz Notes: Bogdanovic, Trade Reaction, Clarkson
After the Jazz reached an agreement to send Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee in a cost-cutting move, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Utah had late first-round pick offers for the veteran sharpshooter, but the proposals also included longer-term salaries, so the team chose to maintain financial flexibility instead.
Once the trade is complete, the Jazz will have traded away Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale, Patrick Beverley (acquired as part of the Gobert deal), Donovan Mitchell and Bogdanovic this offseason, with more veterans likely to follow in the coming months as the team pivots towards a full rebuild.
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- In his video reaction to the trade, ESPN’s Bobby Marks says he likes the deal for Detroit, noting that Bogdanovic has both more on-court and trade value than Olynyk and Lee, and the 60-day trade aggregation rule doesn’t apply to Bogdanovic because the Pistons used their cap room to acquire him — they theoretically could flip him again immediately, even though there’s no indication that’s imminent. Marks says there shouldn’t be a rush to judge Utah too harshly for seemingly not getting great value for Bogdanovic because creating more breathing room below the luxury tax line might enable the Jazz to take on added salary in other trades as they look to clear a roster logjam, and they could always trade Olynyk closer to the deadline.
- Sarah Todd of The Desert News analyzes the trade, writing that Bogdanovic was “too good to keep on the roster” for a team trying to lose games. According to Todd, Bogdanovic’s age (33) and expiring deal made rival teams reluctant to part with significant assets for the veteran forward, despite his impressive production. She also points out that trading him to Detroit, a team that’s been towards the bottom in the standings the past few years, also could have been a motivating factor, since it might ensure the Pistons win more games than the Jazz, increasing Utah’s lottery odds.
- In an interview with Mike DeStefano of Complex, guard Jordan Clarkson says he’s “ready for whatever happens” as a veteran player whose name has popped up in trade rumors. “If I’m in a different jersey in a week or tomorrow I get a phone call and I have to put on whatever jersey it is, I’m just trying to win and take whatever team it is to the next level to hopefully win a championship one day,” Clarkson said as part of a larger quote.
Hawks Sign Armoni Brooks To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Hawks have signed free agent guard Armoni Brooks, the team announced in a press release. According to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link), Brooks will receive an Exhibit 10 contract.
The 24-year-old spent last season with the Rockets and Raptors, averaging 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 54 games (15.4 minutes per contest). He was waived by Toronto at the end of July before his $50K partial guarantee for 2022/23 increased to $250K.
Known as a long-range marksman, Brooks struggled with his shot in ’21/22, posting a .339/.297/.857 slash line. He fared much better as a rookie in ’20/21 when he signed a two-way deal with the Rockets, averaging 11.2 points and 3.5 rebounds while converting 38.2% of his three-point attempts on high volume (7.9) in 20 games (26.0 minutes).
After going undrafted in 2019 after three years at the University of Houston, Brooks signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Hawks, so he has experience with the organization, having spent the majority of his first professional season with the College Park Skyhawks, the team’s G League affiliate.
Brooks reportedly had recent workouts with the Cavaliers and Lakers, but was unable to find a roster spot on either team. Instead he’ll return to Atlanta with the hope of making the regular season roster.
The Hawks now have a full 20-man roster for training camp. With only 13 players signed to fully guaranteed contracts and second-rounder Tyrese Martin with a $450K partial guarantee, Atlanta might have a camp battle to determine who makes the final spot on the standard 15-man roster, assuming the team carries 15 players.
Brooks’ Exhibit 10 deal, which is non-guaranteed, ensures that he’ll receive a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived before the season starts and spends at least 60 days with the Skyhawks.
Former No. 1 Recruit Emoni Bates Arrested On Gun Charges
Former No. 1 recruit Emoni Bates, who spent last season with Memphis but transferred to Eastern Michigan for 2022/23, was arrested on Sunday night in Michigan for felony gun charges, according to WXYZ Detroit.
Bates was originally pulled over for failing to stop at an intersection, and police offers subsequently discovered a firearm. He has been charged with felony counts of carrying a concealed weapon and altering the serial number on a gun, per WXYZ.
The 18-year-old was arraigned and released on Monday after the judge granted him a nonmonetary personal recognizance bond, Bates’ lawyer, Steve Haney, told Pete Thamel and Myron Medcalf of ESPN. Haney requested a plea of not guilty on Bates’ behalf, and his next court date is October 6.
Bates told his attorney that he was driving a borrowed vehicle, ESPN’s duo relays.
“Reserve judgment on this,” Haney said via a statement. “There’s way more to the story. He borrowed someone’s car, was pulled over and a gun was located in the car.”
Bates, who is from Ypsilanti, Michigan, where Eastern Michigan is located, has been suspended by the school.
“We are aware of a situation involving men’s basketball student-athlete Emoni Bates,” the school said in a statement. “Eastern Michigan University takes all allegations of this nature very seriously. Per department policy, he has been suspended automatically from practice and playing privileges until the legal process is resolved. Because this is an on-going legal matter, the University will have no further comment at this time.
Bates was the No. 1 recruit of the 2022 class before reclassifying and leaving high school a year early, finishing as the No. 3 recruit in 2021, per Thamel and Medcalf. However, his draft stock has taken a hit after an injury-plagued freshman season saw him average 9.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .386/.329/.646 shooting in 18 games (23.4 MPG) for the Tigers.
Most early 2023 mock drafts have Bates as a late-first round pick or an early second-rounder.
Bucks Sign Ibou Badji To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Bucks have signed undrafted rookie Ibou Badji to an Exhibit 10 contract, league sources tell our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
Badji, who turns 20 next month, spent the 2021/22 season with Forca Lleida CE of the LEB Oro, Spain’s second league. In 37 games (19.9 MPG) last season, the Senegalese center averaged 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.2 BPG, according to his NBA.com draft profile.
The Bucks have also signed undrafted rookie Iverson Molinar to an Exhibit 10 deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. The news of his signing was first reported back in June, but wasn’t official until now.
In 34 games (34.1 MPG) as a junior for Mississippi State last season, the Panamanian guard averaged 17.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.2 SPG on .454/.252/.868 shooting. For his efforts, he earned a berth on the All-SEC First Team.
Hoops Rumors can also confirm that Alex Antetokounmpo, who was recently waived by the Bucks, received an Exhibit 10 deal.
Exhibit 10 deals, which are non-guaranteed, would make Badji and Molinar eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if they’re waived before the season starts and spend at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate.
Southeast Notes: Bridges, Gibbs, Hawks, Wizards, Magic
A preliminary hearing for Hornets forward Miles Bridges, who is facing three felony domestic violence charges, has been rescheduled for a third time, writes Michael Gordon of The Charlotte Observer.
Bridges was initially scheduled to appear in court on August 19, but it was pushed back to September 7, then to September 16. A spokesman for the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office told Gordon that the new court date is set for September 29, which is after training camp begins.
The 24-year-old entered a plea of not guilty at his arraignment hearing in July. Bridges could face a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months in prison if he’s convicted of all three domestic abuse charges.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- Ashton Gibbs is joining the Hawks as an assistant coach, George Michalowski of Pittsburgh Sports Now reports. Gibbs told Michalowski that he’ll work with Atlanta and the College Park Skyhawks, the team’s G League affiliate. Gibbs played four years at Pitt from 2008-12, averaging 15.6 PPG over his final three seasons. He also made several international stops during his pro career, which ended in 2019, per Michalowski.
- With the caveat that something could happen in the next week, all the members of the Wizards‘ projected 15-man roster “appear on track” to be full participants during training camp, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Washington’s training camp starts on September 24, Robbins notes. Star guard Bradley Beal was limited to 40 games in 2021/22 due to a wrist injury that required surgery, and oft-injured big man Kristaps Porzingis also missed several games after he was acquired at the trade deadline.
- Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel lists three storylines to monitor regarding the Magic‘s guards. Price wonders whether Jalen Suggs can improve his shooting percentages after an injury-plagued rookie season saw him post a .361/.214/.773 slash line. His 21.4% three-point percentage ranked last out of 292 players who appeared in 20+ games and averaged at least two attempts per contest, Price notes. R.J. Hampton‘s role and the team’s backcourt rotation and starters are also worth keeping an eye on, Price writes.
Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Role, Ham, Trade Talks, Schröder
Despite the recent additions of Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schröder, Russell Westbrook is increasingly likely to remain on the Lakers‘ roster, according to Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
However, sources tell The Athletic that Westbrook’s role might change, with the team “strongly” considering having the former league MVP come off the bench in 2022/23. New head coach Darvin Ham has the “full backing” of the organization to determine lineups for the upcoming season, and Westbrook will have to outperform his new teammates during minicamp, training camp and the preseason to remain the Lakers’ starting point guard, Buha and Amick write.
Unless the Lakers can find a trade that they believe makes them a legitimate title contender, Westbrook is “highly likely” to stay on the roster, sources tell The Athletic.
A major part of that line of thinking is the Lakers want to keep their financial and trade options open for ’23/24, when they project to have $30MM+ in cap room for free agency, per Buha and Amick. Westbrook is on an expiring contract worth $47.1MM, and the Lakers have been reluctant to trade their 2027 and/or 2029 first-round picks to offload him.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Los Angeles is banking on Ham being able to optimize Westbrook’s talent — and get through to him in a way that Frank Vogel couldn’t — as well as a return to health for Anthony Davis in order for the ’22/23 season to be successful, sources tell Buha and Amick.
- According to Buha and Amick, the Lakers discussed a four-team trade with the Jazz, Knicks and Hornets prior to Donovan Mitchell being dealt to Cleveland, with an early framework sending Bojan Bogdanovic and Terry Rozier to L.A.
- Los Angeles continues to show interest in Bogdanovic, with The Athletic’s duo reporting that Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley have been included in recent talks with Utah for Westbrook. However, a deal is considered unlikely because of the aforementioned reasons — the Lakers don’t want to part with first-rounders and Clarkson has a $14.3MM player option for ’23/24 that would eat into the team’s potential cap room.
- Along the same lines, Buha and Amick write that dealing Westbrook to the Pacers for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, which has been rumored multiple times, is also “not expected” — Hield has a $19.3MM cap hit in ’23/24.
- Schröder made an Instagram post expressing his excitement about returning to the Lakers, saying that he wanted to “make s–t right!” Schröder’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, tells Mark Medina of NBA.com (Twitter link) that the team informed Schröder that “there will be a lot of minutes for everybody” despite a crowded backcourt.
Dennis Schröder Signs One-Year Deal With Lakers
7:57pm: Schröder’s deal with the Lakers is now official, the team announced in a press release.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Dennis Schröder back to the Lakers,” said GM Rob Pelinka. “Not only do Dennis and Coach Ham share a player-coach history together, but they also reflect one another’s mentality of toughness with an extremely competitive edge. Dennis will add both depth and an on-ball defensive presence to our core at the guard position. He is also a proven scorer and playmaker. We are really excited for Dennis to get to camp and get back to work in L.A. after his highly successful run with his national team this offseason.”
4:35pm: Free agent point guard Dennis Schröder is signing a one-year contract with the Lakers, his agent Mark Bartelstein tells Marc Stein (via Twitter).
The Lakers don’t have any cap space available and used their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Lonnie Walker, so Schröder will receive a minimum-salary deal, as Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (Twitter link). Schröder will earn $2.64MM for the upcoming season as a nine-year veteran, while the Lakers’ cap hit will be $1.84MM.
It will be a reunion for the two sides, as Schröder spent the 2020/21 season with Los Angeles. Stein reported last month that the Lakers were giving “legit consideration” to bringing Schröder back, and now that has come to fruition.
Schröder reportedly turned down a four-year extension from the Lakers worth $80MM+ during the 2020/21 season, then had to settle last summer for a one-year, $5.9MM deal with the Celtics, who eventually traded him to the Rockets in February. Now he’ll return to L.A. on a minimum contract.
In 64 games (28.7 MPG) split between Boston and Houston during the ’21/22 season, Schröder averaged 13.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 4.6 APG on .431/.344/.853 shooting.
Schröder, who turned 29 years old yesterday, is coming off a strong performance at EuroBasket, where he led Germany to the semifinals before falling to Spain earlier today. He averaged 26.0 points and 8.0 assists in the three elimination games, including a game-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting against Spain.
According to Stein (Twitter link), Schröder’s international performance raised his free agent stock, and now he’ll get the reunion he desired. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports (via Twitter) that Schröder had been talking to the Lakers “for months” about a possible return, noting that the veteran guard played under new head coach Darvin Ham while the two were with the Hawks.
As John Hollinger of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), the team’s backcourt is looking pretty crowded with Schröder’s addition, but he was the best unrestricted free agent available on the market and the Lakers need to add talent wherever they can find it after missing the playoffs with a 33-49 record last season. Sources tell Stein (Twitter link) that Ham will be in charge of the team’s lineup, but L.A. reportedly views Russell Westbrook and Schröder as point guards, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn as shooting guards, and Austin Reaves as a small forward behind LeBron James.
In addition to the players Stein mentioned, the Lakers also have Walker, second-round pick Max Christie, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Troy Brown on the wing, though Toscano-Anderson is versatile enough to play in the frontcourt at times as well.
Once Schröder’s deal is official, the Lakers will have 12 players on guaranteed contracts, two on non-guaranteed deals (Reaves and Wenyen Gabriel) and both two-way slots filled. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, adding a 15th player to the standard roster would cost the Lakers $7MM due to the luxury tax.