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Thunder Move Josh Giddey To Bench For Game 5

May 15th, 2024 at 9:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder made a change to their starting line up on Wednesday night, benching Josh Giddey in favor of Isaiah Joe to optimize floor spacing for Game 5 of their semifinal matchup with Dallas, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. The series is currently tied at two games apiece.

The No. 6 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Giddey had started all 218 games — including the postseason — of his three-year career prior to Wednesday.

As Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman wrote late last week, Giddey struggled mightily in the first two games of the series and saw his role drastically reduced — that has continued as the series has unfolded. Through four games, the 21-year-old is averaging 6.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.3 APG in just 13.3 MPG, posting a .385/.182/1.000 shooting line. The team is minus-22 in his 53 minutes on the court.

In 80 regular season games in 2023/24, Giddey averaged 12.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 4.8 APG on .475/.337/.806 shooting in 25.1 MPG.

The Mavericks have been daring Giddey to shoot throughout the series, playing so far off him that it clogs passing lanes and makes life difficult for his teammates. The Australian has also struggled on the other end of the court, Lorenzi added.

Still, Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault called Giddey was a “very important part” of the team’s present and future.

“What I’ve seen is three years of Josh Giddey, and he’s a very good player and a very important player to our team,” Daigneault said, per Lorenzi. “In Game 4 of New Orleans, I don’t know that we close that series if he’s not banging in shots in the fourth quarter. These games are high stakes, they’re obviously emotional. But I think it’s important with every player — good, bad — to zoom out and see the big picture. And the big picture is he’s been a very productive player for a long time. He’s 21 years old. He’s gonna be a very productive player for a long time moving forward.”

Giddey will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell To Miss Game 5

May 15th, 2024 at 5:25pm CST by Luke Adams

5:25pm: Mitchell is out for Game 5, the team announced (Twitter link via Cavs sideline reporter Serena Winters). As we relayed in a separate story, LeVert and Allen are out as well.

10:51am: Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell is expected to miss Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday in Boston, sources tell Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Mitchell, who was unavailable for Game 4 due to a left calf strain, had been listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest, which is a do-or-die game for a Cavs team trailing the Celtics 3-1 in the series. The All-Star guard admitted on Monday that his availability for Game 5 was very much up in the air.

Two other key Cleveland players are also listed as questionable: starting center Jarrett Allen (right rib contusion) and sixth man turned starter Caris LeVert (left knee bone bruise). None of the three players were on the floor when reporters were let into the Cavs’ shootaround on Wednesday morning, though Mitchell and LeVert did later come onto the court, notes Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter links).

Allen has missed seven straight playoff games as a result of his rib injury, while LeVert reportedly aggravated his knee issue in Game 4, which he started in Mitchell’s place.

Barring some last-minute good news on Mitchell’s status – or a big-time upset on Wednesday by a Cleveland team listed as a 16-point underdog – there’s a chance the 27-year-old has played his last game as a Cavalier. He’ll enter a potential contract year this offseason and if he doesn’t sign an extension, the Cavs will have a major decision to make on his future, with rival teams already said to be preparing their trade offers.

Donovan Mitchell Out For Game 4 Due To Calf Strain

May 13th, 2024 at 5:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers leading scorer Donovan Mitchell will miss Game 4 against the Celtics tonight due to a left calf strain, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The absence of Mitchell puts Cleveland in a dire situation as it tries to even the series. The Cavs trail the top-seeded Celtics, 2-1, after losing Game 3 on their home floor.

Mitchell was listed as questionable to play on Sunday’s injury report. Concern grew when he didn’t take part in the open portion of the team’s shootaround, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports. Mitchell watched film and underwent treatment but did not warm up for the game.

“Just the other night, toward the back end of that fourth quarter, it just started to build on him and became sore,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

Mitchell scored a team-high 33 points in 43 minutes in Game 3.

Starting center Jarrett Allen also remains out due to a bruised rib. He hasn’t played since Game 4 of the team’s first-round series vs. Orlando.

Caris LeVert will start in place of Mitchell, while Isaac Okoro continues to start in Allen’s spot.

Mitchell Robinson Undergoes Another Ankle Surgery

May 13th, 2024 at 4:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson underwent a “small” surgical procedure on his left ankle today, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.

Robinson was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason last week after he sustained a stress injury to the ankle. At that time, it was reported that he wouldn’t require surgery.

That changed after additional consideration by his surgeon and the Knicks’ medical staff. Begley adds that it was a minor procedure. Robinson will still be reevaluated in six-to-eight weeks, which was the same timetable given last week.

Robinson underwent surgery on the same ankle in December. He didn’t return until March 27.

Overall, Robinson only appeared in 31 regular season games and six postseason contests. He has two years remaining on his four-year, front-loaded $60MM contract.

Robinson also underwent surgery for a thumb injury last season.

Pistons Hoping To Hire Tim Connelly As President Of Basketball Operations?

May 13th, 2024 at 10:55am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons appear to be targeting Timberwolves president Tim Connelly in their search for a new president of basketball operations, according to James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Sources tell Edwards and Charania that Connelly is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract with Minnesota this summer. Although it seems likely that he’ll sign a long-term deal with the Wolves, the authors speculate that Detroit owner Tom Gores could potentially land him with an aggressive offer in the range of $15MM per year.

The Pistons’ search for someone to run the front office has moved slowly since it was announced. The Bucks reportedly denied permission for Detroit to interview team president Jon Horst, and former Trail Blazers executive Neil Olshey refused an invitation to interview for the job.

The Pistons have moved onto other candidates, with the authors hearing that Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon, Mavericks consultant Dennis Lindsey and Bulls general manager Marc Eversley have become “viable targets” for the role.

In the same piece, Edwards and Charania speculate that falling to No. 5 in the draft lottery may boost leaguewide interest in the Pistons’ first-round pick. Because there’s not a set tier of players at the top of this year’s draft, rival teams may believe the fifth pick could bring a talent similar to the top choice. It also comes at a significant discount, as the authors note that last year’s No. 1 pick, Victor Wembanyama, will earn between $12MM and $16MM for the rest of his rookie contract, while No. 5 pick Ausar Thompson will be paid between $8.3MM and $11.1MM.

Woj: James Borrego, J.J. Redick “Names To Watch” In Lakers’ Coaching Search

May 13th, 2024 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers will intensify their search for a new head coach at this week’s Draft Combine in Chicago, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link), who identifies James Borrego and J.J. Redick as “names to watch” in that process.

Borrego currently serves as lead assistant for the Pelicans and helped the team develop a top-10 offense by utilizing Zion Williamson as a point forward, Wojnarowski notes. Borrego was the head coach in Charlotte from 2018-22, compiling a 138-163 record in four seasons. He also went 10-20 as interim coach in Orlando at the end of the 2014/15 season and spent time as an assistant to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio as well.

Redick is a member of ESPN/ABC’s top broadcasting team and has become a prominent media figure since retiring as a player in 2021. Although he doesn’t have any coaching experience, he benefits from a close relationship with Lakers star LeBron James, who serves as his co-host on the “Mind of the Game” podcast.

Lakers officials are expected to begin contacting rival teams this week to request permission to interview their assistant coaches, Woj adds. A report on Saturday identified Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Nuggets assistant David Adelman, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, and Heat assistant Chris Quinn as potential candidates, but Nori, Adelman and Sweeney are all still involved with playoff teams.

L.A. will likely conduct a “long search” and interview numerous candidates before hiring its next coach, according to Wojnarowski.

Bronny James Receives Medical Clearance, Expected To Remain In Draft

May 13th, 2024 at 8:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Bronny James‘ heart issues won’t prevent him from potentially playing in the NBA, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who report that the son of Lakers star LeBron James has received medical clearance to be drafted.

The league office will inform teams today that James has been evaluated and proclaimed healthy by three physicians from the NBA’s Fitness To Play Panel, according to the authors’ sources. That will allow him to fully participate with other top prospects in this week’s Draft Combine in Chicago.

Wojnarowski and Givony hear that James is expected to play in the combine’s 5-on-5 scrimmages, which will begin Tuesday. He’s hoping to make an impact on scouts, coaches and team executives following an underwhelming season at USC, where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game.

James was projected as a potential first-round pick in some circles last fall, but he’s now viewed as a marginal prospect to be drafted. He’s ranked 98th on ESPN’s Big Board, though teams may be tempted to select him in hopes that it will help lure his father in free agency.

His disappointing performance could have been related to his medical problems that began last July when he collapsed on the court during a workout and suffered cardiac arrest. James underwent a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect and was eventually able to resume playing with no restrictions.

He will enter the pre-draft process with an option to return to college if he’s not encouraged about his draft prospects. The deadline for that decision is May 29, and the authors note that he has decided to explore the transfer portal if he opts to withdraw from the draft.

However, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that James is expected to remain in the draft regardless of what happens at the combine and beyond (Twitter link).

Bucks Deny Pistons Permission To Interview Jon Horst

May 12th, 2024 at 3:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Pistons’ search for a new team president of basketball operations may have to go back to the drawing board.

In his latest Substack column, Marc Stein cites sources who say that the Bucks refused to allow Detroit to interview Jon Horst, despite a belief that Milwaukee’s team president was open to a conversation.

Horst was honored as the league’s Executive of the Year in 2018/19 and helped guide the Bucks to their first championship after a 50-year drought in 2021. Horst inked a long-term extension with the club that fall. Most recently, he helped orchestrate the team’s deal to acquire All-Star point guard Damian Lillard last offseason, while also re-signing aging veterans Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to lucrative new deals.

Milwaukee underwent a tumultuous 2023/24 season. Horst hired and fired first-time head coach Adrian Griffin to lead the team’s Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo superstar tandem and brought in his replacement, Doc Rivers. With Jrue Holiday gone, the team’s perimeter defense fell off, though Rivers helped stabilize it somewhat when he took over. Ultimately, the Bucks finished with a 49-33 record and the East’s No. 3 seed. Lillard and Antetokounmpo were felled by injuries, and Milwaukee was upset in its first round series against the sixth-seeded Pacers.

Horst is a Michigan native whose work in the NBA began with the Pistons, so it would make sense for him to be intrigued by the opportunity to run Detroit’s front office. Conversely, it’s not a huge surprise that the Bucks wouldn’t want their top front office decision maker — who has been the architect for much of their recent success with Antetokounmpo — to be poached by a direct Central Division rival.

The Pistons, who are demoting but retaining general manager Troy Weaver, have also been linked to Mavericks consultant Dennis Lindsey and former Knicks general manager Scott Perry. Stein has previously noted that Timberwolves president Tim Connelly is viewed as a potential target if he were to opt out of his current contract, agreed to when Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore were expected to become Minnesota’s majority owners.

Detroit is coming off one of its worst seasons ever, having finished with a league-worst 14-68 record during their first year under head coach Monty Williams. Though Detroit was no doubt hoping to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft thanks to its miserable 2023/24 run, the team instead fell in Sunday’s draft lottery, and will now pick fifth.

Full 2024 NBA Draft Order

May 12th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the NBA’s draft lottery results are in, the full 2024 draft order has been set.

We’ll likely see some of these picks change hands on June 26 or 27, or in the days leading up to the draft — we’ll be sure to update the list below if and when picks are traded.

Here’s the full 2024 NBA draft order:

First Round:

Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards
Houston Rockets (from Nets)
San Antonio Spurs
Detroit Pistons
Charlotte Hornets
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
Memphis Grizzlies
Utah Jazz
Chicago Bulls
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets)
Sacramento Kings
Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors)
Miami Heat
Philadelphia 76ers
Los Angeles Lakers
Orlando Magic
Toronto Raptors (from Pacers)
Cleveland Cavaliers
New Orleans Pelicans (from Bucks)
Phoenix Suns
Milwaukee Bucks (from Pelicans)
New York Knicks (from Mavericks)
New York Knicks
Washington Wizards (from Clippers)
Minnesota Timberwolves
Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz (from Thunder)
Boston Celtics

Second Round:

Toronto Raptors (from Pistons)
Utah Jazz (from Wizards)
Milwaukee Bucks (from Trail Blazers)
Portland Trail Blazers (from Hornets)
San Antonio Spurs
Indiana Pacers (from Raptors)
Minnesota Timberwolves (from Grizzlies)
New York Knicks (from Jazz)
Memphis Grizzlies (from Nets)
Portland Trail Blazers (from Hawks)
Philadelphia 76ers (from Bulls)
Charlotte Hornets (from Rockets)
Miami Heat
Houston Rockets (from Warriors)
Sacramento Kings
Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
Orlando Magic
San Antonio Spurs (from Lakers)
~~Philadelphia 76ers~~
- Note: The Sixers forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
Indiana Pacers (from Cavaliers)
Indiana Pacers (from Pelicans)
Washington Wizards (from Suns)
Golden State Warriors (from Bucks)
Detroit Pistons (from Knicks)
Boston Celtics (from Mavericks)
Los Angeles Lakers (from Clippers)
Denver Nuggets (from Timberwolves)
Memphis Grizzlies (from Thunder)
~~Phoenix Suns (from Nuggets)~~
- Note: The Suns forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
Dallas Mavericks (from Celtics)

Hawks Win 2024 NBA Draft Lottery; Wizards, Rockets, Spurs In Top 4

May 12th, 2024 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have won the 2024 NBA draft lottery, jumping all the way up from No. 10 in the pre-lottery order to No. 1.

Atlanta had just a 3% chance of claiming this year’s top pick. Those are the longest odds for any team that has won the lottery since the NBA revamped the format prior to the 2019 draft.

The full lottery order for the 2024 draft is as follows:

Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards
Houston Rockets (from Nets)
San Antonio Spurs
Detroit Pistons
Charlotte Hornets
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
Memphis Grizzlies
Utah Jazz
Chicago Bulls
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets)
Sacramento Kings
Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors)

There’s no consensus No. 1 pick in 2024 like there was with Victor Wembanyama a year ago, so the Hawks will have plenty of options to consider in the coming weeks.

French big man Alexandre Sarr, French forward Zaccharie Risacher, UConn center Donovan Clingan, G League Ignite wing Ron Holland, Ignite forward Matas Buzelis, Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham are among the prospects expected to be in the mix for the top few picks.

Some of those players look like better fits than others on the current Atlanta roster, but there has been an expectation that the Hawks will make some significant changes this summer, with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray viewed as possible trade candidates. Atlanta’s front office will have to take those potential moves into account as it weighs what to do with the No. 1 pick.

Washington, Houston, and San Antonio are among the other big winners of draft lottery day. The Wizards entered the day ranked second in the pre-lottery order and no team had better odds at the top pick, but they also had just a 27.4% chance to remain in the top two, so they can’t complain about the outcome. It will be the second lottery pick for the current front office, which will get the opportunity to add another building block to last year’s No. 7 overall selection Bilal Coulibaly.

The Rockets‘ own pick at No. 12 will be sent to the Thunder as a result of 2019’s Russell Westbrook trade, but Houston will pick third overall thanks to one of the unprotected Nets first-rounders that was included in the 2021 James Harden blockbuster. Prior to the lottery, that pick had just the ninth-best odds to move into the top three (14.5%).

A report this week stated that the Rockets are interested in trading their lottery selection for future draft assets after having made nine first-round picks in the past three years. Assuming Houston’s stance hasn’t changed following the lottery results, the fact that the pick is now No. 3 instead of No. 9 should significantly improve its value on the trade market.

The Spurs, meanwhile, had an eventful lottery day, landing a pair of picks in the top eight as they look to build a contending team around Wembanyama. Their own pick moved up one spot, from No. 5 in the pre-lottery order to No. 4, and they also secured a second pick as a result of Toronto dropping from No. 6 to No. 8.

The Raptors traded their top-six protected 2024 first-round pick to San Antonio in a package for Jakob Poeltl last year and would have retained it if no teams had leapfrogged them into the top four. Because Atlanta and Houston both moved up, that No. 8 pick will be controlled by the Spurs — the Raptors’ obligation to San Antonio is complete and they’ll control all their own first-rounders beginning in 2025.

It’s another disappointing lottery day for the Pistons, who – for a second consecutive year – finished with the NBA’s worst record and ended up with the No. 5 overall pick. For what it’s worth, Detroit only had about a 50/50 chance (52.1%) in each case to land in the top four, due to the flatter nature of the odds under the NBA’s current format. Still, losing that coin flip in back-to-back years is a discouraging outcome for a Pistons team whose rebuild hasn’t progressed at the rate the organization hoped.

While no team dropped as far as the Pistons (four spots), the Hornets (No. 3 to No. 6), Trail Blazers (No. 4 to No. 7), Grizzlies (No. 7 to No. 9), and Jazz (No. 8 to No. 10) also moved back multiple spots as a result of the lottery.

If Utah had fallen one more spot, the Jazz would’ve owed their top-10 protected first-round pick to the Thunder, but that obligation will roll over to 2025 instead — the pick will retain its top-10 protection next year.

The Wizards, Pistons, Hornets, Trail Blazers, and Kings also had traded picks fall into their protected range and will owe their 2025 first-rounders to rival teams. The Knicks will receive Washington’s 2025 pick if it’s not in the top 10 and Detroit’s pick if it’s not in the top 13. The Spurs will control Charlotte’s lottery-protected 2025 pick; the Bulls would get Portland’s 2025 pick if it’s outside the lottery; and the Hawks will acquire the Kings’ 2025 first-rounder if it doesn’t end up in the top 12.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Warriors would have retained their 2024 first-rounder in the unlikely event that it had moved into the top four. Because it stayed at No. 14, it was sent to Portland and Golden State has no further obligation to the Blazers.