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Hawks Dismiss Head Coach Nate McMillan

February 21st, 2023 at 5:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:01pm: The Hawks have issued a press release, confirming McMillan’s dismissal as well as Prunty’s promotion to interim head coach.

“I would like to thank Nate for his leadership and professionalism during his time with the Hawks. He is truly a class act, and we appreciate the graciousness and work ethic he brought with him every day,” Hawks GM Landry Fields said. “Decisions like these, especially in-season, are always extremely difficult, but we believe it’s in the best interest of our team to move forward with another voice leading the way.”

4:24pm: The Hawks have fired head coach Nate McMillan, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Atlanta is one of the league’s most disappointing teams. The Hawks currently rank eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 29-30 record.

Assistant Joe Prunty will be the interim coach, but the franchise is looking at some bigger names to become the permanent head coach, according to Wojnarowski.

Former Jazz coach Quin Snyder tops the list of candidates with Bucks assistant Charles Lee and Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson also on the Hawks’ radar (Twitter links). The team will conduct a wide-ranging search, which will begin immediately.

The Hawks have one of the league’s top point guards in Trae Young and made a blockbuster trade to acquire Dejounte Murray from San Antonio as his backcourt partner. Yet, they have floundered around the .500 mark for much of the season.

McMillan was named the club’s interim coach in March 2021 in place of Lloyd Pierce. Atlanta made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals, prompting the Hawks to remove the interim tag and give him a four-year contract in July 2021.

The Hawks finished the regular season at 43-39 and lost in the first round of the playoffs last spring. A report surfaced last month that stated McMillan was unlikely to remain the head coach beyond this season.

Young has had disagreements with McMillan, although their relationship has reportedly been smoother since an incident that was highly publicized in early December. McMillan had reportedly considered resigning this season, but team officials were able to talk him out of it.

Prunty was the Bucks’ interim head coach during the 2017/18 season and finished with a 21-16 record. Milwaukee lost to Boston in the opening round of the playoffs that season.

Prunty has been an assistant on eight NBA teams. He spent a season with Phoenix and wasn’t in the league for two years before joining the Atlanta staff prior to last season.

Wizards, Will Barton Complete Buyout

February 21st, 2023 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

3:39pm: Barton has officially been placed on waivers, per a press release from the Wizards. As we relayed in a separate story, the plan is for Goodwin to fill the newly opened roster spot.

12:49pm: Wizards guard Will Barton has completed a buyout agreement with the team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski first reported just after the trade deadline passed that Washington and Barton were working out a buyout.

While there has been no official announcement from the Wizards yet, it sounds like Barton will be placed on waivers today and would be on track to reach free agency on Thursday. He had been earning $14.375MM in the final year of his contract.

After being packaged with Monte Morris in the offseason trade that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to Denver, Barton has had a disappointing season for his hometown team in D.C., averaging just 7.7 points per game on 38.7% shooting in 40 appearances (19.6 MPG).

Barton’s three-point shooting remained solid (38.0%) this season and he had several good years with the Nuggets before last summer’s trade, so the 32-year-old should garner some interest from playoff contenders as a low-cost free agent addition.

If and when Barton becomes a free agent, Denver would be the only team besides Washington ineligible to sign him — NBA rules prohibit a team from re-signing a player it traded during the offseason if he’s waived by his new team during the subsequent season.

The Wizards, meanwhile, will have an open roster spot after waiving Barton and are widely believed to be planning a promotion for two-way player Jordan Goodwin. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Washington still has an unused portion of its mid-level exception left and is about $2.1MM below the luxury tax line, so Goodwin could be signed to a multiyear deal without team salary going into the tax.

Magic Waive R.J. Hampton

February 21st, 2023 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

2:12pm: The Magic have officially waived Hampton, the team confirmed in a press release.

1:55pm: The Magic are waiving former first-round pick R.J. Hampton, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

The No. 24 pick in the 2020 draft, Hampton was part of Orlando’s return in the 2021 trade that sent Aaron Gordon to Denver. He had a rotation role in his first season-and-a-half with the Magic, but has seen his playing time decline precipitously in 2022/23 after the team declined the ’23/24 team option on his rookie scale contract.

Hampton, who turned 22 earlier this month, appeared in just 26 contests for the Magic this season, averaging 5.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on .439/.340/.838 shooting in 13.9 minutes per game. He wasn’t a regular contributor in a crowded backcourt that features Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, and Gary Harris.

Considered a trade candidate for much of this season, Hampton remained in Orlando through the February 9 deadline. A report surfaced shortly after the deadline suggesting that his days with the Magic were numbered.

Hampton has a $2,412,840 cap hit for 2022/23, so a team with cap room or a trade exception big enough to absorb that amount could place a waiver claim. The more likely scenario is that he’ll go unclaimed and seek out a new home as an unrestricted free agent.

The Magic are also promoting two-way player Admiral Schofield to a standard contract, so once officially they complete both transactions, they’ll have two spots available on their 17-man roster — one standard and one two-way.

Nets’ Jacque Vaughn Agrees To Multiyear Extension

February 21st, 2023 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

10:43am: Vaughn’s new contract is expected to keep him under team control through the 2026/27 season, Wojnarowski writes in his full story on the deal.

9:12am: The Nets and head coach Jacque Vaughn have agreed to a multiyear contract extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The team has issued a press release officially confirming the news.

“Jacque has made an immediate and immeasurable impact on our entire organization since assuming the role of head coach earlier this season,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “On the court, he’s clearly demonstrated his leadership through his ability to connect and communicate at a very high level while displaying tremendous instincts for the game.

“As a person, they don’t come any better than Jacque. His character is impeccable, and there is not a better representative for our team and our borough. We are thrilled to have Jacque lead the Nets for years to come.”

Vaughn took over as Brooklyn’s head coach following Steve Nash‘s dismissal in November and had his interim label removed about a week later.

The Nets were off a 2-5 start under Nash but have thrived since Vaughn’s promotion, going 32-19 under their former assistant. Brooklyn’s ability to make a deep playoff run took a hit following this month’s trades of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but the team still holds the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture for the time being.

Vaughn was an assistant for the Nets from 2016-22, briefly serving as the team’s interim coach and guiding Brooklyn to a 7-3 record after Kenny Atkinson was let go in 2020. He served as Orlando’s head coach from 2012-14, though the rebuilding club had a record of just 58-158 (.269) during his stint.

The exact terms of Vaughn’s new contract aren’t yet known, but Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) the Nets’ coach has been extended for “multiple years past the 2023/24 season.”

Bulls’ Lonzo Ball Ruled Out For Rest Of Season

February 21st, 2023 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

9:54am: The Bulls have made it official, announcing in a press release that Ball won’t return this season.

“Despite making significant increases in strength and function over the past several months, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball continues to experience performance limiting discomfort during participation in high level basketball-related activities,” head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said in a statement. “Considering the required time period to achieve the necessary level of fitness to return-to-play and the current stage of the NBA season, Ball will not return this season. The focus for Ball will continue to be on the resolution of his discomfort and a full return for the 2023/24 season.”

9:40am: The Bulls are expected to shut down point guard Lonzo Ball for the rest of the 2022/23 season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago first reported that the Bulls were “widely expected” to announce sometime after the All-Star break that Ball would miss the remainder of the season.

Ball underwent surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee last January, but complications related to that procedure prevented him from returning for the rest of the 2021/22 season. He underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure this past September in the hopes of cleaning up the lingering issues in the knee. However, according to Charania, the former No. 2 overall pick is still experiencing pain and discomfort.

It has been a brutal process for both Ball and the Bulls, who were playing terrific basketball before their starting point guard went down last season. At the time of Ball’s injury last January, Chicago had a 27-13 record; across parts of the two seasons since then, they’re just 45-56.

While Ball’s averages last season (13.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.1 APG) didn’t jump off the page, he was a strong contributor on defense and did a good job managing an offense that includes three talented scorers (Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic). He also helped spread the floor around those scorers by making 42.3% of his three-pointers.

The Bulls have rotated through multiple point guards this season, with Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso both getting starts and Goran Dragic and Coby White also seeing some time at the position. Chicago just reached an agreement to sign another veteran point guard, Patrick Beverley, to help fill the void created by Ball’s absence.

Given how long Ball has been sidelined, at this point we’re just hoping to eventually see the talented 25-year-old back on the floor and looking like his old self. Ideally, that will happen next season, but we’ll have to wait for more details on his prognosis, including whether he’ll have to undergo any additional procedures.

Ball still has two years left on his contract with the Bulls beyond this season. He’s owed a guaranteed $20.5MM salary next season, with a $21.4MM player option for 2024/25.

Heat Sign Cody Zeller

February 20th, 2023 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 20: The Heat have officially signed Zeller, the team tweets.

FEBRUARY 19: In addition to reaching an agreement to sign Kevin Love, the Heat plan to fortify their frontcourt depth by adding Cody Zeller to their 15-man roster, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press first reported (via Twitter) that Zeller was “targeting” signing with the Heat, after Michael Scotto of HoopsHype stated on Saturday that the veteran center had worked out for Miami.

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte, then played for Portland in 2021/22. He had a limited role for the Blazers last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG in a career-low 13.1 minutes off the bench in 27 games before a right patellar avulsion fracture ended his season.

Zeller signed a non-guaranteed training camp deal with Utah this past September, but failed to earn a spot on the Jazz’s regular season roster and was waived at the end of the preseason. He has been seeking a new NBA home since then, having also worked out for the Lakers earlier in the season.

The Heat’s salary-dump trade of center Dewayne Dedmon prior to the deadline created some extra breathing room below the luxury tax for the organization, putting Miami in position to fill its 14th and 15th roster spots without becoming a taxpayer. The deal also thinned out the team’s frontcourt depth, so when the Heat went shopping on the buyout market following the deadline, they were said to be focusing on frontcourt players rather than guards.

Zeller will give Miami an experienced veteran option on the depth chart behind All-Star center Bam Adebayo. Omer Yurtseven, Orlando Robinson, and Udonis Haslem are also in the mix at the five, but Yurtseven is coming off ankle surgery and hasn’t played at all this season, Robinson is on a two-way contract and is nearing his games-played limit, and Haslem hasn’t played regular minutes for the last few years.

Assuming Love and Zeller both officially sign, as expected, the Heat would have a full 15-man roster, leaving no room for Robinson to get a promotion or Jamaree Bouyea to get another 10-day deal unless another player is waived.

We’ll see how that situation plays out, but if Robinson isn’t in the franchise’s plans going forward, Miami could cut him when he reaches his games-played limit, then bring back Bouyea to a two-way contract.

Antetokounmpo Has Wrist Sprain, Avoids Serious Damage

February 20th, 2023 at 6:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks and their fans can exhale. Giannis Antetokounmpo avoided serious damage in his right wrist, tests revealed on Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The examination took place in New York and Antetokounmpo was diagnosed with a sprained ligament. He’ll undergo treatment with the expectation that he’ll return to the lineup once the pain subsides, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

It’s uncertain if Antetokounmpo will need to miss some games. Milwaukee will host Miami and Phoenix this weekend.

The Bucks’ superstar removed himself from the All-Star Game after scoring the first basket. Antetokounmpo played just nine minutes in Milwaukee’s victory over Chicago on Thursday. The two-time MVP was injured trying to block a layup attempt by Coby White. He jammed his wrist when he reached out while crashing into the padded stanchion.

Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-high 31.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season. He has already missed 11 games, mostly due to knee soreness.

Kevin Love Signs With Heat

February 20th, 2023 at 5:28pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 20: Love has officially signed with the Heat, the team announced (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 19: Veteran forward Kevin Love intends to sign with the Heat after he clears waivers, agent Jeff Schwartz has confirmed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Miami had been considered the frontrunner to sign Love after he completed a buyout agreement with the Cavaliers on Saturday. However, reports at the time indicated that he hadn’t yet made a final decision, with Wojnarowski noting that the 34-year-old still wanted to meet with the Sixers. Now, following that conversation with Philadelphia, it appears Love has made up his mind (Twitter link).

The Heat were viewed as a logical landing spot for Love because they can offer him the ability to play a key role right away. Miami has been on the lookout for power forward help for months, following P.J. Tucker‘s exit in free agency last summer. Caleb Martin has been the de facto starter at that spot for much of the season, but the 6’5″ wing lacks the size to match up with stronger, more physical fours.

Love, who fell out of the rotation in Cleveland last month and played his last game as a Cavalier on January 24, can’t replicate what Tucker did for the Heat last season, since he’s not as stout or as versatile defensively. But the five-time All-Star will bring some size, scoring, and rebounding to a Miami team that ranks 26th in the NBA in offensive rating (111.1) and 27th in rebounds per game (41.4) at the All-Star break.

Love’s averages of 8.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG on .389/.354/.889 shooting in 41 games (20.0 MPG) for the Cavs this season are somewhat underwhelming, but he put up 13.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and a .430/.392/.838 shooting line in a similar role (22.5 MPG) across 74 appearances for Cleveland last season.

The Heat won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to sign Love, since they have two open spots on their 15-man roster following the expiration of Jamaree Bouyea‘s 10-day deal with the team. Even after signing Love, Miami will have one more opening to either bring back Bouyea on another 10-day contract, promote Orlando Robinson from his two-way deal, or sign someone else.

According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), Cody Zeller – who recently worked out for the Heat – has emerged as a strong candidate to fill that final open roster spot.

Having been officially waived on Saturday, Love will clear waivers on Monday, so the Heat are in position to sign him before their season resumes on Friday in Milwaukee. Miami has a portion of its mid-level exception and its full bi-annual exception available, giving the club the ability to offer Love more than the veteran’s minimum, but the terms of his deal haven’t yet been reported.

In addition to Miami and Philadelphia, the Suns and Lakers were among the other teams believed to have some level of interest in Love.

Commissioner, Union Leaders Optimistic About New CBA

February 18th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that the early opt-out deadline has been extended to March 31, commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio are focused on working out a new collective bargaining agreement by that date, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“I would just say it’s an absolute priority for us as well to get a deal done as soon as possible,” Silver said Saturday at his annual All-Star Game news conference. He later added, “It’s my hope that the deal will be done by then.”

Both sides indicated that progress has been made on a new CBA, although some issues still have to be worked through, such as how to handle load management and the potential addition of a midseason tournament. NBPA president CJ McCollum is a supporter of the tournament, citing experiences that his brother had with a similar arrangement in Europe.

“Obviously, we’re still working through logistics and what that kind of looks like, the financial implications behind the midseason tournament,” McCollum said. “I think, as a player who has played in play-in games probably more than I would have liked to at this point in my career, I think there was probably some pessimism and optimism mixed in from our fan base about what that was going to look like.”

Another topic being negotiated is a league proposal to permit players to enter the draft straight out of high school. The union appears open to the idea, but it wants some mechanism to make sure too many veteran players won’t be pushed out of the league as a result. Tremaglio would like to see a structure set up to help high schoolers make the jump to the NBA and give them their best shot at success.

“We recognize that we really do need to make sure that we have the structure in place, if we’re going to have people join the league at the age of 18,” she said. “We also appreciate that there is a lot of benefit to really having veterans who can bring those 18-year-olds along. And so you know, certainly anything that we would even consider, to be quite honest, would have to include a component that would allow veterans to be a part of it as well.”

Silver touched on a few other significant issues, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic:

The commissioner cited “medical data” to support the way teams are currently handling load management and disagreed with claims that stars are sitting out too often.
He said the league is on pace to set records for ticket sales and season-ticket renewals, adding that this year’s All-Star Game is reaching new highs with $280MM in economic impact and 33,000 combined hotel nights.
Silver said a contingency plan is in place to make sure games are televised if any regional sports networks go bankrupt before the end of the season.
He added that no new expansion discussions have taken place. Silver has said before that the league wants to focus on finalizing a new CBA before considering expansion.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Defend Trade Requests

February 18th, 2023 at 6:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

During their All-Star Weekend press conferences, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both responded to critics who say trade demands are bad for the NBA, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Durant and Irving were Nets teammates when February began, but the demands they issued a few days apart shook up the league in advance of the trade deadline. Irving was shipped to the Mavericks and Durant was sent to the Suns in separate deals that reshaped the Western Conference playoff race.

Although it reduces stability when so many star players ask to be moved, Durant believes the fan interest that the trades spark is ultimately positive.

“I don’t think it’s bad for the league,” he said. “It’s bringing more eyes to the league; more people are more excited. The tweets that I get; the news hits that we got from me being traded, Kyrie being traded; it just brings more attention to the league and that’s really what rakes the money in, when you get more attention. So, I think it’s great for the league, to be honest.”

Durant also asked for a trade last summer, but he rescinded that request before training camp as Brooklyn wasn’t able to find an acceptable offer. Irving explored leaving as well last June, but decided to pick up his player option and stay with the Nets when he found a shortage of teams willing to deal for him at his current salary.

Irving explained Saturday that he and Durant were just making the best moves for their careers.

“Why doesn’t anyone have the ability to ask for trades? That’s my question,” Irving said. “When did it become terrible to make great business decisions for yourself and your happiness and peace of mind? Not every employer you’re going to get along with, so if you have the chance to go somewhere else and you’re doing it legally, I don’t think there’s a problem with it.”

McMenamin points out that a long list of NBA stars have requested trades in recent years, including Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Durant sees that trend as one of the positive outcomes of player empowerment.

“Teams have been trading players and making acquisitions for a long time,” he said. “Now when a player can kind of dictate where he wants to go and leave in free agency and demand a trade, it’s just part of the game now. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s bringing more and more excitement to the game.”

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