NBPA’s Tremaglio: “Absolutely Calling” To Ban Sarver For Life
In an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on NBA Today (video link), NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, confirming that she was speaking on behalf of NBA players, said that Suns owner Robert Sarver should be banned from the league for life, writes ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
Sarver received a one-year suspension and was fined $10MM for workplace misconduct, including racist and misogynistic comments.
“We are absolutely calling for that [lifetime ban],” Tremaglio said. “We do not want him to be in a position where he is managing or engaging with individuals who are engaging with our players or the players themselves. We are absolutely clear from the findings that are in the report that we do not want him to be in that position.”
Tremaglio also confirmed to ESPN her previous tweet stating that she’d spoken to commissioner Adam Silver about the NBPA’s stance that Sarver should never hold a managerial position again, but wasn’t sure how open Silver was to changing his mind, despite increasing pressure from minority owners, sponsors, and stars like Lakers forward LeBron James and Suns guard Chris Paul.
Andrews asked Tremaglio if the players were considering boycotting games in the wake of the report and subsequent suspension, but she said there had been no discussions on the matter yet, noting that players are focused on the upcoming season. However, she reiterated that “our players are incredibly upset” about the news.
“Their hearts go out to the families and all of the individuals who have actually had to endure this for such a long period of time. But, at the same time, they recognize that they have a job to do and they are really excited about moving forward with the season,” Tamaglio said.
“Quite frankly, I know that we never want our players to be in a position where they are unsafe or individuals that they are around are unsafe. Mr. Sarver had the ability to set the tone at the top. And for us to have individuals that are in a leadership role impacting the game in that way is detrimental to the success of our players and the safety of our players and that will not be tolerated,” Tamaglio added, per Holmes.
As ESPN’s Zach Lowe noted in an earlier appearance on NBA Today (video link), a lifetime ban for Sarver is not the same as forcing him to sell the team.
According to Lowe, it’s legally possible that Sarver could retain ownership of the team but be barred from participating in all other aspects of Phoenix’s operations, even if that would be an unprecedented and seemingly untenable situation. Three quarters of the league’s owners would have to vote Sarver out to force him to sell, but that seems unlikely because of a potential lawsuit, Lowe added.
Suns’ Garvin Appointed Interim Governor After Sarver Suspension
Vice chairman and minority owner Sam Garvin will serve as the interim governor of the Suns in the wake of Robert Sarver‘s one-year suspension, according to Baxter Holmes and Zach Lowe of ESPN.
Sources tell Holmes and Lowe that commissioner Adam Silver approved Garvin, who has been the team’s alternate governor since 2007, to be the interim governor on Wednesday evening. The move is effective immediately.
After Holmes published a story for ESPN last year detailing workplace misconduct allegations made against Sarver, including racist and misogynistic comments, Garvin was among the members of Phoenix’s ownership group that signed a statement defending Sarver, ESPN’s duo notes.
The law firm that conducted the investigation following Holmes’ report corroborated many of the allegations. The firm found that Sarver had used racially insensitive language in the workplace, including using the N-word when recounting – or purporting to recount – other people’s statements on at least five occasions.
The investigation also confirmed that the Suns’ owner engaged in inequitable treatment of female employees, made “many” sex-related comments in the workplace – including inappropriate comments about female employees’ physical appearances – and treated team employees in a “demeaning and harsh” manner.
However, the NBA stated that investigators “made no finding that Sarver’s workplace misconduct was motivated by racial or gender-based animus.” Obviously, that seems to run contrary to the details from the report, which has led to many around the league being critical of Sarver’s punishment, saying the sanctions fell short.
Damian Lillard Still Plans To Finish Career With Blazers
Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard recently spoke to play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch on his podcast, and the two covered a number of topics, with Lillard reiterating that he expects to spend the rest of his playing career in Portland.
“I do, I do,” he said. “I’ve had my share of people saying ‘Man, you got to get out of there! You’ve got to do this; you’ve got do to that.’ But I’m the type of person that I’m never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else’s drum. I’m gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart. I’ve said this on many different occasions, they call it ‘He’s being loyal!’ and ‘Loyalty this, loyalty that’ and I’m like, I’m naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization.
“But this loyalty that they’re talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person. I’m being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself because I’m somebody that, I believe what I believe. I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say ‘There’s no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.’ But that’s just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we’ll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that’s that. As long as I feel that our organization is putting their best foot forward and we’re on the same page about doing everything we can do to win, then I’m willing to go out swinging…I would love to finish my career here and that’s my plan.”
Here are a few more of the most notable quotes from the Blazers’ star point guard:
On how he’s feeling now after abdominal surgery in January:
“I feel great. It had been about four-and-a-half years that I had been dealing with the abdominal injury. Obviously, toward the end it was much worse than when I first started to experience it…It just reached the point where it was unbearable. Had I known the significance of the injury two, three years ago, I would have done what I had to do to handle it then, but I just didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know it was a situation where I needed surgery.”
On Portland’s revamped roster entering 2022/23:
“We’ve got a lot of guys, that, we have the makings of being a good team. Whether or not we’re going to be a great team, things have to go well. You need some favor, you need a little bit of luck. And you’ve just got to be a team that’s not fun to play against. We’re going to have to grind it out and go take stuff. But I love where we are right now. In this moment, I love where we are.”
On players whose games Lillard admires and would love to play with:
“Well, one of those players was Jerami Grant…and we got him…Without saying star players’ names, because obviously there’s a bunch of stars I would love to play with…If I had to say a player right now who I would want to add to our team, I would say somebody like Mikal Bridges, or OG Anunoby, or Jarred Vanderbilt, somebody like that. One of those three. I love those three guys…They defend, they all have really good size, they can make shots…They’re tough, they’re competitive.”
Izaiah Brockington Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans
5:56pm: Brockington’s two-way contract is now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
2:17pm: The Pelicans are signing undrafted free agent Izaiah Brockington to a two-way contract, his agent Darnell Comer tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski, the 23-year-old guard suffered an ACL injury prior to this year’s draft, but is hopeful of making a return at some point during the season. ESPN’s Andrew Lopez reports (via Twitter) that Brockington sustained the injury during a workout with the Pelicans, who were thinking about selecting him with one of their second-round picks and remain high on his upside.
It was reported the day after the draft that Brockington would be signing an Exhibit 10 deal with New Orleans, but that was never officially confirmed. Now he’ll be getting a pay increase on a two-way deal.
Brockington played four collegiate seasons for three teams. He started out at St. Bonaventure, spent two seasons with Penn State and finished up Iowa State. In 2021/22 with the Cyclones, Brockington averaged team-highs of 16.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG on a .447/.362/.775 shooting line.
Once Brockington officially signs, the Pelicans will have both of their two way spots filled — Dereon Seabron occupies the other.
Second-round pick E.J. Liddell, who suffered a torn ACL during Summer League, remains unsigned and doesn’t have a clear path to a roster spot — the 15-man roster has 14 players with guaranteed contracts and Jose Alvarado with a large partial guarantee as the 15th. Alvarado made a big impact as an undrafted rookie last season, so I’m sure he’ll be sticking around.
Kings Waive DJ Steward
5:52pm: Steward has officially been waived, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
4:05pm: The Kings are waiving DJ Steward, a source tells James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter links).
According to Ham, if Steward doesn’t sign with another team, Sacramento is hopeful that he will rejoin the team’s G League affiliate in Stockton, who hold his returning player rights. His new deal, which he just inked last week, included a small partial guarantee for $50K.
A former McDonald’s All American, Steward spent his lone college season with Duke before going undrafted in 2021. He signed a training camp deal with the Kings last year but was waived before the start of the 2021/22 season.
Steward spent all of last season with the Stockton Kings, appearing in 30 regular season games (21 starts, 29.2 MPG) with averages of 14.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.0 SPG on .463/.331/.884 shooting. The 6’2″ guard also played 12 games (four starts, 21.9 MPG) with Stockton during the Showcase Cup last fall, averaging 12.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.1 SPG on .394/.383/.923 shooting.
The Kings have one of the more unique roster situations right now because they only have 12 players on guaranteed contracts, have reportedly reached agreements with four others — Kent Bazemore, Quinn Cook, KZ Okpala and Jeriah Horne — that have yet to become official, plus three players with relatively small partial guarantees in Matthew Dellavedova, Chima Moneke and Sam Merrill.
It appears as though they’ll have a true training camp competition to determine the last few spots on the standard roster, with both two-way spots currently filled by Keon Ellis and Neemias Queta.
Svi Mykhailiuk Reportedly Prioritizing NBA Return
Free agent wing Svi Mykhailiuk, whose guaranteed minimum-salary contract was waived by Toronto a couple of weeks ago, is prioritizing an NBA return over European opportunities, according to Christos Tsaltas of Greek outlet SDNA (translation via Google Translate).
The No. 47 overall pick of the 2018 draft, Mykhailiuk has bounced around a bit during his four-year NBA tenure, having played for the Lakers, Pistons, Thunder and Raptors. He had a down season in 2021/22 and didn’t receive much playing time for the Raptors, which is why they waived him, but he’s got good size at 6’7″ and 205 pounds, is only 25 years old, and is a career 35.3% three-point shooter — a decent mark.
Mykhailiuk just finished suiting up for Ukraine’s national team at EuroBasket, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 steals on .400/.341/.842 shooting in six games (29.2 minutes). Ukraine was eliminated by Poland in the round of 16, with Mykhailiuk saying afterward that he hoped the team gave the war-torn nation a welcome distraction despite the loss.
According to Tsaltas, Mykhailiuk’s top priority as a free agent is finding another NBA team. Mykhailiuk has spent many years stateside, having played four years of college at Kansas prior to his NBA career. If he’s unable to find a roster spot, Mykhailiuk hasn’t ruled out a G League stint with the goal of returning to the NBA, Tsaltas writes. Mykhailiuk scored 40 points on .478/.438/1.000 shooting in his lone G League game last season with the Raptors 905.
Mykhailiuk is drawing interest from European clubs, but is focused on the NBA and isn’t expected to consider a return to Europe until he exhausts all NBA possibilities, Tsaltas adds. In 220 career games (40 starts, 17.0 minutes), Mykhailiuk holds averages of 6.6 points and 1.8 rebounds on .398/.353/.785 shooting.
Community Shootaround: New York Knicks
After missing the playoffs for seven straight years, the Knicks had a surprising turnaround during the 2020/21 season under new head coach Tom Thibodeau, finishing with a 41-31 record, the No. 4 seed in the East. They ultimately fell to the Hawks in the first round, but it was still a successful season, particularly given the notable contributions from Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.
Randle was an All-Star for the first time, earned a berth on the All-NBA Second Team, and was voted Most Improved Player after averaging 24.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 6.0 APG on .456/.411/.811 shooting (.567 true shooting percentage). Barrett improved his numbers across the board, and his .441/.401/.746 (.535 true) shooting line was very encouraging for a player who had question marks about his jump shot.
New York had the NBA’s third-ranked defense in ’20/21, and its net rating was +2.4, ninth in the league. The team’s expected win total precisely matched its actual total, per Basketball-Reference.
Unfortunately, the Knicks had a disappointing follow-up season in ’21/22, finishing with a 37-45 record, the No. 11 seed in the East. Randle fell back to earth a bit and had several strange incidents both on and off the court, posting a disappointing .411/.308/.756 (.509 true) shooting line and lacking the same effort level defensively. Similarly, although his scoring average improved, Barrett’s efficiency got worse, posting a .408/.342/.714 (.511 true) shooting line.
The team’s offensive rating was nearly identical between the two seasons (110.6 vs. 110.4, both below average), but the defense fell to 11th in the league, with a -0.1 net rating. The Knicks’ actual win total was four less than expected, but even if they had won four more games, they still would’ve likely missed the play-in tournament (Atlanta and Charlotte both finished with 43 wins).
The Knicks’ front office recognized that they needed to make some changes and have had a busy offseason, trading away the No. 11 pick (Ousmane Dieng) to the Thunder to acquire three 2023 protected first-round picks, then flipping one (the Nuggets’ lottery-protected pick) and four second-rounders to the Hornets for the draft rights to No. 13 pick Jalen Duren.
New York then packaged Duren with Kemba Walker, receiving the Bucks’ 2025 top-four protected first-rounder from the Pistons in the deal. The Knicks also made a separate trade with Detroit, a salary dump move that sent Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, a second-rounder and $6MM in cash in exchange for a heavily-protected second-rounder.
All of those moves gave the Knicks the cap room to sign free agent guard Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104MM deal. They also signed center Isaiah Hartenstein to a two-year, $16MM deal and re-signed center Mitchell Robinson to a four-year, $60MM contract.
Obviously, they were heavily involved in trade rumors for three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who landed in Cleveland, but ultimately didn’t make the deal and I’m not going to get into that much since it’s been written about ad nauseam.
Even though the Knicks have had an active summer, former Knicks head coach and current ESPN broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy doesn’t think the team has moved the needle much with its roster moves, per Marc Berman of The New York Post.
“The Knicks have good players, but you line it up against the competition in the East, and this roster is not on the same level,” Van Gundy told Berman in a phone interview. “They could shock the world and be a playoff team, but I look at the East and I’d have to say eight to 13 is where they should be predicted. They’re not even close to a lock for the play-in. A lot has to go right.”
According to Van Gundy, the Knicks lack the top-end talent to be considered a real threat. He suggests that a turnaround and play-in berth might hinge upon a bounce-back season from Randle.
That leads us to our question of the day. Do you agree with Van Gundy’s assessment that “a lot has to go right” for the Knicks to make the play-in tournament? Head to the comments section and let us know what you think.
Kings’ Keegan Murray Cleared Following Wrist Surgery
Kings rookie Keegan Murray, the No. 4 overall pick of the 2022 draft, has been “cleared to resume all basketball activities” after undergoing right wrist surgery in July, a league source tells James Ham of ESPN 1320 (Twitter link).
Three weeks ago, Ham reported that Murray was progressing well in his recovery and was shooting again with both hands. Ham was also the first to report that Murray had surgery, characterizing it as a “minor” procedure and that Murray was expected to recovery quickly. Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL later stated that the team expected Murray to be ready for training camp, and that certainly appears to be the case.
It’s great news for both the Kings and Murray, as he flashed tantalizing two-way potential during Summer League action, winning MVP in Las Vegas. He averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals on .500/.400/.808 shooting in his four Vegas games.
Murray also had a great run at the California Classic Summer League in San Francisco. He averaged 19.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals on .511/.438/1.000 shooting in three games, per RealGM.
The 22-year-old had a relatively quiet freshman season for Iowa, averaging 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds on .506/.296/.755 shooting in 31 games (18.0 minutes). However, Murray emerged as one of the best college players in the country during the 2021/22 season, winning numerous awards after averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks on .554/.398/.747 shooting.
The 6’8″ forward is expected to play a major role for a Kings team that badly wants to end its 16-year playoff drought. Sacramento finished last season with a 30-52 record, 12th in the Western Conference.
And-Ones: In-Season Tournament, Cole, Alatishe, 2023 FAs
More details have emerged about a possible in-season tournament. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the proposed tournament would run through November, with eight teams advancing to a single-elimination round in December. All of the games would be part of the regular season schedule, with one extra game for the two finalists.
The tournament has yet to be finalized, but it could be implemented as soon as the 2023/24 season if the NBA and the Players Association agree to it, per Charania. The eight teams that advance would receive to-be-determined prizes, Charania adds.
Charania previously reported that the “Final Four” of the tournament would be held at a neutral site; it’s unclear if that’s still part of the framework. Commissioner Adam Silver has long been a proponent of an in-season tournament.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA veteran Norris Cole hit a game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds left to lift Team USA past Puerto Rico at the AmeriCup on Thursday, according to an Associated Press report. “I just wanted to make a play for the team,” said Cole, who had the final eight points for the U.S. “The team trusted me, drew up a play for me to catch it and I was able to make a play. Moments like that, everybody dreams about, but I work hard at my individual game along with the team game, I was able to show my individual talent within the team concept, and it worked out.” The Americans won the quarterfinal by a score of 85-84, with Cole recording a game-high 20 points. Team USA will face Argentina in the semifinal on Saturday, with the medal-round games on Sunday, per the AP. The other semifinal features Brazil vs. Canada.
- Oregon State forward Warith Alatishe won’t return for a “super-senior” year in 2022/23 and plans to pursue a professional career instead, a source tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Alatishe spent his first two seasons at Nicholls State prior to transferring to Oregon State. He averaged 9.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 1.1 BPG over the past two seasons with the Beavers.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac recently released his list of the top 50 potential 2023 free agents. No. 1 on his list? Sixers guard James Harden, followed by Nets guard Kyrie Irving. Rounding out Smith’s top 50 is Spurs wing Josh Richardson.
2023/24 Salary Cap Projection Increases By $1MM
The NBA has updated its salary cap projections for the 2023/24 season and is now forecasting a $134MM cap and a $162MM luxury tax line, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who notes that both figures are an increase of $1MM on the projections from the end of June.
The salary cap for the 2022/23 season is locked in at $123,655,000, so the cap is projected to increase by about $10.35MM. The tax line for this season is $150,267,000, so that figure is projected to increase by about $11.73MM.
We will continue to update our early ’23/24 projections for the minimum salary, maximum salary, and mid-level and bi-annual exceptions throughout the season.
According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), there is a 10% limit on how much the salary cap can increase from this season to next due to the “financial hardship” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, so $136MM is the maximum possible cap for the 2023/24 season.
Given the projections for ’23/24 have increased before the ’22/23 season has even tipped off, there’s a good chance that it could increase a little more throughout the league year. That could change of course, but as of right now, it seems like a reasonable bet.
Training camps start at the end of September, with the regular season set to start on October 18.