Southwest Notes: Bullock, Dinwiddie, Clarke, Davis
Mavericks swingman Reggie Bullock has been named this year’s recipient of the 2021/22 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award, Bullock announced in a recent Instagram story (hat tip to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News).
“Super honored to have won this award,” Bullock said in his Instagram story, which also included two photos of an engraved trophy. “My platform isn’t taken for granted and I’ll keep inspiring and doing what’s right for my ppl ‼️”
The league has not yet officially revealed the identity of this year’s victor, chose by a committee featuring several social justice leaders. The NBA is supposed to make the announcement at some point during Sunday’s TNT broadcast of the Western Conference Finals.
Aside from Bullock, other finalists for the honor this season include All-Star Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, All-Star Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet, Grizzlies All-Defensive Team power forward Jaren Jackson Jr., and Bucks All-Defensive Team point guard Jrue Holiday.
The league is set to make a $100K donation to a charitable social justice organization of Bullock’s choosing. The Dallas Morning News reports that Bullock has selected his hometown Kinston Teens to receive the donation. The other finalists will all be given a $25K league donation for their chosen social justice groups.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks reserve guard Spencer Dinwiddie has enjoyed a particularly lucrative playoff run for Dallas thus far, Marc Stein notes at Substack. The structure of the contract Dinwiddie signed during the 2021 offseason with the Wizards is laden with bonuses that incentivize postseason success. Dinwiddie earned $100K when the Mavericks made the second round of the playoffs and $571,427 when the club advanced to the Western Conference Finals. Should Dallas move on to the Finals, Dinwiddie would earn an additional $400K bonus.
- Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke is hoping to improve his three-point game in time for the 2022/23 season, writes Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Clarke, 25, is eligible for a rookie contract extension this summer. “It’s pretty high up on the list,” Clarke said of improving his long-range shooting. “I kind of proved this year I’m not somebody who… needs to be shooting the ball to be playing well, but that’s definitely something very high up on the list that I want to work on more.” Cole opines that the addition of a three-point shot to Clarke’s repertoire could impact how the Memphis front office views his long-term fit. Clarke is a career 29.4% three-point shooter on 0.9 attempts a night, though he did convert 35.9% of his 1.1 looks per game during his rookie season in 2019/20.
- The Spurs, owners of the ninth pick in the 2022 draft, are one of several clubs who took a look at top prospect Johnny Davis, a 6’5″ wing out of Wisconsin, during the 2022 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Davis’s NCAA tenure has him well-versed with rebuilding teams, per Tom Orsbron of the San Antonio Express-News. “We lost six or seven seniors from my freshman year, so it was a very limited roster on the team,” Davis said of the Badgers’ 2021/22 squad. “Guys were looking left and right, (thinking), ‘Who is going to be the next ‘guy’ on the team?’ So I figured, ‘Why not me?’ It was a great opportunity to go out and play freely.” Davis averaged just 7.0 PPG during his freshman season, but took a leap as a sophomore. The 20-year-old put up 19.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.2 APG for the 25-8 Badgers this past season, while being named a consensus first-team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year. The Spurs also possess the No. 20, 25, and 38 picks in the 2022 draft.
Warriors Notes: Payton, Wiggins, Curry, Moody
In an article for The Players Tribune, Warriors guard Gary Payton II says there’s no lingering dispute with the Grizzlies‘ Dillon Brooks over a hard foul that left Payton with a fractured left elbow. Payton reveals that Brooks apologized outside Golden State’s locker room following the conclusion of their second-round series.
“I give Dillon a lot of credit for that — no text, no social media, nothing indirect,” Payton writes. “He came in person, and we talked like grown men. He told me he didn’t mean to hurt me. I believe him.”
Payton adds that he’s staying positive despite a three- to five-week prognosis that means he may not return before the Warriors’ playoff run is over. He says his attitude is a product of all the work it took for him to make the league and to earn a roster spot with Golden State.
“From Day One, back when I first got with this team, all I wanted more than anything was to just stick around — that was my motto,” Payton writes. “Because I knew that if I could just do that, eventually I was going to play my way into the rotation. I was going to make an impact, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind. Early on, they’d bring guys in to have a look at them or whatever, and I’d D them up like my actual life depended on it. It was like, Nope. No sir. You are not taking my spot. Not today.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Andrew Wiggins is listed as questionable for Sunday night’s Game 3, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Wiggins, who has a sore left ankle, is averaging 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the first two games of the series, MacMahon notes, and he’s been the team’s primary defender against Luka Doncic. Wiggins twisted the ankle late in the first half Friday night (video link from Anthony Slater of The Athletic). Coach Steve Kerr expects him to play, Slater adds (Twitter link).
- After two years away from the playoffs, Stephen Curry is providing a reminder of how dangerous he can be in closing out games, writes Marcus Thompson of The Athletic. Curry leads all postseason scorers this year with 104 fourth-quarter points, and he’s done it in just 79 minutes. “I thought Steph kind of smelled blood in the water those last five minutes (Friday),” Kerr said, “and he got to his spots. We had good spacing, and he got in in the middle of (the) paint, and he finished. … So Steph did what Steph does, something like that.”
- Kerr trusted Moses Moody to be part of his lineup that opened the fourth quarter, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 19-year-old rookie played nearly 10 minutes in the final quarter and registered a plus-8. “Moses is extremely mature, and what makes him special is he’s ready for any moment,” Jordan Poole said. “For him to come in and step up and play big minutes in the Western Conference finals and help us pull out a win is huge.”
Marcus Smart, Mikal Bridges Head All-Defensive Team
Marcus Smart, Mikal Bridges, Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaren Jackson Jr. comprise the 2021/22 All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced in a press release.
Smart, who was voted Defensive Player of the Year, received the most points with 198 (99 first-place votes), but he was left off of one voter’s ballot. It’s his third All-Defensive nod, all First Team.
DPOY runner-up Bridges was second with 193 points (it’s his first All-Defensive team), followed by third place finisher Gobert (171), a three-time DPOY who has now been voted to the First Team for the sixth straight season.
Antetokounmpo, the ’19/20 DPOY, was voted to his fourth consecutive First Team. He was also selected to the Second Team in ’16/17, so it’s his fifth nod overall.
Jackson, who led the league in blocked shots per game at 2.27, makes his first All-Defensive Team, edging Bam Adebayo by just one point (153 to 152) for the First Team. It’s the third straight season Adebayo has been selected to the Second Team.
Jrue Holiday earns his fourth All-Defensive honor, now owning two Firsts and two Seconds. He also earned a $120K bonus for his efforts, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link), which will increase the Bucks‘ luxury tax payment to about $52MM.
Matisse Thybulle was selected to the Second Team for the second straight year, while Robert Williams earns his first nod. Williams has a $223,215 bonus attached to his rookie scale extension, but he won’t earn it for his efforts this season because he’s in the final season of his rookie contract. However, the award will change his cap hit for ’22/23 (up to $10,937,502), because he’s now considered likely to achieve an All-D nod again next season, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks relays (via Twitter).
Draymond Green, the ’16/17 DPOY, was the final selection to the Second Team. It’s his seventh All-Defensive Team overall (four Firsts, three Seconds). Green is now second among all active players in All-Defensive Team awards, only trailing Chris Paul (nine). He was previously tied with LeBron James at six.
Here are both All-Defensive teams in full, with their voting point totals noted in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.
2021/22 All-Defensive First Team:
- Marcus Smart, Celtics guard (198)
- Mikal Bridges, Suns guard (193)
- Rudy Gobert, Jazz center (171)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks forward (156)
- Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies forward (153)
2021/22 All-Defensive Second Team:
- Bam Adebayo, Heat forward (152)
- Jrue Holiday, Bucks guard (89)
- Matisse Thybulle, Sixers guard (87)
- Robert Williams, Celtics center (70)
- Draymond Green, Warriors forward (34)
A total of 24 other players received votes: 10 guards, 11 forwards and three centers. Among the group that missed the cut, Fred VanVleet was the top guard with 41 points, Evan Mobley was the top forward with 13, and Joel Embiid was the top center with 33. The full results can be found here.
One thing worth noting, which I personally disagree with: media members with ballots are asked to select two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, and vote for players “at the position they play regularly,” which is counterintuitive in the modern NBA, where positions increasingly matter less and less. “Players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position at which they received the most voting points,” per the release.
Forcing voters to shoehorn players into positions is a poor process. For example, Adebayo starts at center, but is listed as a forward; Bridges is listed at guard, but starts at small forward. I’m not saying those players were undeserving, far from it — but it’s an irritating and outdated inconsistency.
In my opinion, the best defensive players should be on the All-Defensive teams, regardless of position. I’d also like to see a third All-D team so more recognition is given to players for their efforts on the less glamorous end of the court.
Grizzlies Face Decision On Dillon Brooks
The Grizzlies will face an offseason decision on what to do with forward Dillon Brooks, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Brooks has started 245 of 272 games since arriving in Memphis in 2017, but Cole wonders if it might make more sense for the Grizzlies to make him a sixth man next season, since it would open up more offensive opportunities for starters like Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson, while Brooks could be the sort of shot creator that the bench has lacked.
Brooks’ contract situation is also worth monitoring. He’ll be entering the final year of his current deal, which could make him a candidate for either a trade or an extension. The most the Grizzlies could offer him would be about $61MM over four years.
Fischer’s Latest: Magic, Holmgren, Bamba, Kings, Sharpe
Rival executives and league personnel view Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren as the most likely pick for the Magic at No. 1 in next month’s draft due to the front office’s affinity for length, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond have gravitated toward lanky players with huge wingspans since arriving in Orlando and did the same during their days in Milwaukee, Fischer observes, citing Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson, Thon Maker, Jonathan Isaac, and Mohamed Bamba as examples.
Fischer also points to Holmgren’s good relationship with last year’s No. 4 overall pick Jalen Suggs – they played together at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis – as another reason why the Magic may be leaning toward the Gonzaga star.
Whether the Magic end up drafting Holmgren or another top big man prospect like Auburn’s Jabari Smith, league personnel increasingly believe that Bamba is increasingly likely to leave the team this summer, Fischer says. Bamba is eligible for restricted free agency, but there may not be room for him in a frontcourt that would include Holmgren or Smith, Wendell Carter, and the returning Isaac.
Here’s more from Fischer:
- There’s a “strong belief” among rival executives that the Kings, who badly want to get back to the playoffs, will explore trading the No. 4 pick, according to Fischer. Holmgren, Smith, and Paolo Banchero are the consensus top three players in the draft class, but a number of prospects are in play at No. 4, so there may be a team that feels compelled to move up to snag its preferred target, Fischer writes.
- League personnel view the Trail Blazers at No. 7 and the Pelicans at No. 8 as other good candidates for trades among lottery teams, per Fischer. The Thunder, Grizzlies, and Spurs, all of whom own multiple first-round selections, are worth monitoring for possible trade-up scenarios, and there are a few teams that may want to move their first-rounders for future picks due to salary cap or luxury tax concerns, Fischer adds.
- Shaedon Sharpe is considered the wild card of the lottery and could come off the board as high as No. 4, Fischer says. Some executives told Bleacher Report that Sharpe could realistically have been a candidate for No. 1 overall if he had played at all at Kentucky. Given how little Sharpe has played in the last year, he’s regarded as a high-risk, high-upside pick.
2022 NBA Draft Picks By Team
Not only did the Thunder move up in Tuesday’s draft lottery to claim this year’s No. 2 overall pick, but they’re also one of just three teams with four picks in the 2022 draft. No team’s 2022 selections are more valuable than Oklahoma City’s — in addition to the second overall pick, the Thunder control No. 12, No. 30, and No. 34.
The Spurs and Timberwolves also each own four 2022 draft picks, with San Antonio controlling three first-rounders and No. 38, while Minnesota has No. 19 and three second-rounders.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, four clubs don’t currently own any 2022 draft picks. The Lakers, Suns, and Jazz are three of those teams, and either the Sixers or the Nets will be the fourth, depending on whether Brooklyn decides to acquire Philadelphia’s first-rounder or defer it to 2023.
To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2022 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…
Teams with more than two picks:
- Oklahoma City Thunder (4): 2, 12, 30, 34
- San Antonio Spurs (4): 9, 20, 25, 38
- Minnesota Timberwolves (4): 19, 40, 48, 50
- Orlando Magic (3): 1, 32, 35
- Sacramento Kings (3): 4, 37, 49
- Indiana Pacers (3): 6, 31, 58
- Portland Trail Blazers (3): 7, 36, 57
- New Orleans Pelicans (3): 8, 41, 52
- Charlotte Hornets (3): 13, 15, 45
- Cleveland Cavaliers (3): 14, 39, 56
- Memphis Grizzlies (3): 22, 29, 47
- Golden State Warriors (3): 28, 51, 55
Teams with two picks:
- Houston Rockets: 3, 17
- Detroit Pistons: 5, 46
- Washington Wizards: 10, 54
- New York Knicks: 11, 42
- Atlanta Hawks: 16, 44
Teams with one pick:
- Chicago Bulls: 18
- Denver Nuggets: 21
- Philadelphia 76ers: 23
- Milwaukee Bucks: 24
- Dallas Mavericks: 26
- Miami Heat: 27
- Toronto Raptors: 33
- Los Angeles Clippers: 43
- Boston Celtics: 53
Teams with no picks:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
And-Ones: Musa, Scola, Mannion, Nigeria
Former Nets wing Dzanan Musa, a first-round pick in 2018, has been named the Most Valuable Player of Liga ACB, Spain’s top basketball league, for the 2021/22 season, per an official press release.
Fans, reporters, players, and coaches vote on the award, and Musa was the top pick among all four groups, earning the maximum 100 points. Ex-NBA forward Nikola Mirotic finished fourth with 30 points.
After appearing in just 49 games in his two seasons with Brooklyn from 2018-20, Musa returned to Europe and has played in Turkey and Spain over the last two years. He averaged 20.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .494/.381/.787 shooting in 29 Liga ACB games (32.0 MPG) for CB Breogan this season.
Former NBA forward Mirza Teletovic stated earlier this year that he’s confident Musa, who just turned 23 years old this month, will return stateside sooner or later.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran forward Luis Scola, who played in the NBA from 2007-17, will exercise his option to assume majority ownership of the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese, the club announced in a press release. Once the paperwork is official, Scola will own 51% of the franchise’s shares.
- Former Warriors guard Nico Mannion is drawing some interest from NBA teams as a possible Summer League player, tweets George Zakkas of SDNA in Greece. Mannion remains under contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy for the time being.
- Having opened a league office in Lagos earlier this year, the NBA is on the lookout for the next Giannis Antetokounmpo in Nigeria, according to Lindsay du Plessis of ESPN, who spoke to NBA Africa VP Gbemisola Abudu about NBA Nigeria’s goals in the country.
- David Aldridge of The Athletic takes a look at what the offseason for the holds for the four teams eliminated in round two, examining the key areas for the Grizzlies, Bucks, Sixers, and Suns to address this summer.
2022 NBA Draft Lottery Primer
The 2022 NBA draft lottery will take place on Tuesday night prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Celtics. The half-hour event will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 7:00 pm central time.
This year’s draft pool features a group of four prospects generally considered by experts to be a level above the rest of the class: Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., Paolo Banchero, and Jaden Ivey. Teams that move into the top four on Tuesday night will have the opportunity to snag one of those potential future stars.
Here’s what you need to know heading into tonight’s lottery:
Pre-Lottery Draft Order:
The top 14 picks in the 2022 NBA draft would look like this if tonight’s lottery results don’t change the order:
- Houston Rockets
- Orlando Magic
- Detroit Pistons
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Indiana Pacers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Lakers)
- Note: The Grizzlies will receive this pick if it falls to No. 11 or No. 12.
- San Antonio Spurs
- Washington Wizards
- New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
- Charlotte Hornets
- Cleveland Cavaliers
For the full pre-lottery draft order, click here.
Draft Lottery Odds:
The Rockets, Magic, Pistons, and Thunder have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick. Each of those four teams has a 14.0% chance to pick first overall.
Typically, only the top three teams in the lottery standings would have a 14.0% shot at the No. 1 overall pick, but the Thunder join that group by virtue of holding two lottery picks — there’s a 12.5% chance that their own pick will move up to No. 1 and a 1.5% chance the Clippers’ pick, which they also control, will be No. 1.
From there, the Pacers (10.5%), Trail Blazers (9.0%), Kings (7.5%), and Pelicans (6.0%) have the best odds to receive the first overall pick.
For the full draft lottery odds for all 14 spots, click here.
Trades Affecting The Draft Lottery:
The Clippers and Lakers are the only non-playoff teams that have traded away their lottery picks this year, and neither team put protections on its traded first-rounder.
The Thunder will receive the Clippers’ pick, as detailed above.
The Lakers’ pick technically still remains up for grabs, depending on the lottery results, due to a trade between New Orleans and Memphis. Here are the details on that deal:
Pelicans/Grizzlies
The Pelicans will acquire the Lakers’ pick if it lands in the top 10, while the Grizzlies will receive it if it ends up at No. 11 or 12.
Since the Lakers finished eighth in the lottery standings, there’s approximately a 99.5% chance that New Orleans will hang onto the pick. At least three teams in the 9-14 range would have to jump into the top four in order for Memphis to receive it.
Draft Lottery Representatives:
The representatives for each of this year’s lottery teams are as follows, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA:
- Houston Rockets
- On stage: Rafael Stone (general manager)
- Lottery room: Clay Allen (general counsel)
- On stage: Rafael Stone (general manager)
- Orlando Magic
- On stage: Jeff Weltman (president of basketball operations)
- Lottery room: Joel Glass (chief communications officer)
- Detroit Pistons
- On stage: Richard Hamilton (former Pistons player)
- Lottery room: George David (assistant GM)
- On stage: Richard Hamilton (former Pistons player)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- On stage: Nick Collison (former Thunder player / special assistant to GM)
- Lottery room: Sam Presti (executive VP / general manager)
- Indiana Pacers
- On stage: Kelly Krauskopf (assistant GM)
- Lottery room: Chad Buchanan (general manager)
- Portland Trail Blazers
- On stage: Damian Lillard
- Lottery room: Dewayne Hankins (president of business operations)
- Sacramento Kings
- On stage: Domantas Sabonis
- Lottery room: John Kehriotis (minority owner)
- On stage: Domantas Sabonis
- New Orleans Pelicans
- On stage: Swin Cash-Canal (VP of basketball operations)
- Lottery room: David Griffin (executive VP of basketball operations)
- San Antonio Spurs
- On stage: David Robinson (former Spurs player / strategic partner)
- Lottery room: Niraj Mulji (director of basketball strategy)
- Washington Wizards
- On stage: Wes Unseld Jr. (head coach)
- Lottery room: Tommy Sheppard (president of basketball operations / general manager)
- On stage: Wes Unseld Jr. (head coach)
- New York Knicks
- On stage: William Wesley (executive VP / senior basketball advisor)
- Lottery room: Brock Aller (VP of basketball and strategic planning)
- On stage: William Wesley (executive VP / senior basketball advisor)
- Charlotte Hornets
- On stage: P.J. Washington
- Lottery room: David Duquette (assistant GM)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- On stage: Anderson Varejao (former Cavaliers player / team ambassador)
- Lottery room: Jon Nichols (VP of basketball strategy and personnel)
Lottery Format:
This will be the fourth year that the NBA uses its revamped lottery system, which reduces the odds that the league’s very worst teams will land a top pick and makes the top four selections available via the lottery, instead of the top three.
Before the NBA changed its lottery format, there was a 60.5% chance that one of the league’s bottom three teams would secure the No. 1 pick, and only a 27.6% chance that a team in the 5-14 range of the lottery standings would do so. Now, those odds are 42.0% and 45.5%, respectively.
The results since the new format was implemented have shown that the smoothed-out odds have the potential to create a little more mayhem on lottery night.
In 2019, the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Lakers claimed three of the top four picks despite ranking seventh, eighth, and 11th, respectively, in the lottery standings. In 2020, the Hornets and Bulls each moved up four spots, from Nos. 7 and 8 to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
A year ago, the results were more by-the-numbers. However, the seventh spot in the lottery standings was lucky again, this time for the Raptors, who moved up to No. 4 and grabbed eventual Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.
For full details on the revamped lottery format, click here.
Grizzlies Notes: Jones, Offseason, Clarke
Although he said it’s not the “end all, be all” for him, Grizzlies point guard Tyus Jones admitted in his end-of-season press conference that he’d like to be a starter, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“You always strive for more, but at the same time with that being said, I’ve always viewed myself as a starter, even coming off the bench,” Jones said. “A lot of times being called one of the best backups in the league, I never called myself that. I always just viewed that I was just a starter that’s coming of the bench. That’s always been my mindset.”
Jones will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and Cole notes that the Grizzlies will be at a disadvantage if Jones prioritizes the opportunity to play a starting role, given that Ja Morant is obviously the team’s long-term starter at point guard.
However, executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman indicated the Grizzlies have interest in re-signing Jones, referring to him as a player who has “always been kind of like a cultural, foundational type piece for the group.” And, for his part, Jones hasn’t signaled that he plans to leave Memphis.
“It’s definitely not going to be an easy decision by any means,” Jones said of his upcoming free agency. “I don’t have my mind made up one way or another.”
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- Kleiman was happy with what the Grizzlies accomplished in 2021/22, but made it clear that he believes there’s still room to improve, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. “The goal is, and continues to be, to win a championship here,” Kleiman said. “The decision-making North Star continues to be what’s going to maximize our chances of doing so, building in a sustainable way. I’m excited to see what opportunities there are to make us better. We’re going to look at everything on the table… to increase our likelihood of getting us to the point we believe we can get to.”
- Head coach Taylor Jenkins conveyed a similar sentiment in his end-of-season comments, as Wallace relays: “It’s been an unbelievable year, but there are also plenty of ways we can get better. Our guys on this team have never wavered in their ability to adjust and adapt to whatever challenges we’ve faced. And we’ve found success together. After a win, after a loss, no matter, we found ways to stick with our values and get better from it. We take that same mindset into the offseason.”
- Coming off a strong year as a rotation player, Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer and earned plenty of praise from Kleiman at season’s end this weekend. “Brandon had a great year, and he and the coaches leaned into what he’s great at,” Kleiman said, per Parker Fleming of Grizzly Bear Blues (Twitter link). “We’re in a great place with Brandon, and he fits great with what we’re trying to do.”
- In a subscriber-only story, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian explores what’s next for the Grizzlies following their second-round elimination.
- In case you missed it, we passed along a pair of Ja Morant news items on Sunday night.
Ja Morant Eager To Sign Extension, Hopes To Avoid Surgery
- Speaking of contract extensions, Grizzlies star Ja Morant is eager to sign one with the team this offseason, as shared by Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (video link). Morant is coming off a career-best season, averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. “I’m definitely happy to be here. Memphis is my home,” Morant said, later offering a “hell yeah” to whether he wants to stay long-term.
- Morant is also hoping to avoid offseason surgery on his knee, as relayed by the Memphis Commerical Appeal. The 22-year-old suffered a bone bruise in Game 3 of the Grizzlies‘ second-round series against Golden State. He didn’t play for the rest of the series.