D’Angelo Russell: “It Was Tough To Agree With” Move To Bench
D’Angelo Russell didn’t complain about being moved to a reserve role for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, but he also didn’t support the decision, according to Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation.
Coach Darvin Ham made the change in hopes of sparking the Lakers, who were trailing 3-0 in the series. Russell saw just 15 minutes off the bench in the final game — scoring four points with two rebounds and two assists — as L.A. was swept out of the playoffs.
“I mean, it was tough,” Russell said. “It was tough to agree with it obviously, but in a short period of time to not become a distraction to your teammates and to everybody else that’s preparing just like you to get the one goal done which is win. I knew that was where you had to be professional. You can’t be a distraction at this point of the season and things like that, so that’s kind of how I went about it. I wanted to be professional and try to dominate my minutes when there were minutes for me.”
Russell fit in well with the Lakers after being acquired from Minnesota in February, and he was effective in the first two rounds of the playoffs. He was never able to find his shot against Denver though, connecting at just 32.3% from the field in the series. The Nuggets also targeted him relentlessly on defense.
Fans and the media were calling for Ham to pull Russell out of the starting lineup earlier, but a report last week said there were concerns that the team might “lose” Russell if that happened, meaning he could become possibly become disconnected from the team ahead of free agency.
Russell will be unrestricted this summer after making $31.4MM this season. He is eligible for an extension through June 30 worth up to $67.5MM over two years, but the Lakers don’t appear to be willing to approach that number.
Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis Not Opposed To Rebuild
New Wizards president Michael Winger will have “carte blanche” to reshape the team’s roster, and owner Ted Leonsis isn’t opposed to a rebuild if that’s what Winger has in mind, a league source tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Leonsis has been rumored to be opposed to tearing down the roster and building through the draft in the past, so this could be a pivot point for the franchise. It will be interesting to see which direction Winger goes.
Winger’s decision-making power won’t be limited to just the Wizards’ roster, as he will have “wide latitude” to reshape the organization’s infrastructure, including the front office and coaching staff, according to Robbins. The 43-year-old had been the Clippers’ GM since 2017.
Both Robbins and David Aldridge of The Athletic have heard from sources who say Winger will submit a five-year plan to Leonsis that will be updated after every year. Washington’s owner “wanted someone who’d take big swings, in a big market,” according to Aldridge’s source. Leonsis has assured Winger he’s willing to pay the luxury tax if necessary in the future, Aldridge adds.
Winger, who is a lawyer and has an analytics background, is known as a “big-picture” thinker who has extensive experience handling contract and trade negotiations, as well as navigating the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and salary cap, per Robbins and Aldridge.
A source tells Aldridge that Winger isn’t afraid to voice his opinion, as he was one of the few Clippers executives who had reservations about the Paul George trade with the Thunder — which was tied to Kawhi Leonard signing with L.A. as a free agent — because Winger believed the Clippers were giving up too many first-round picks.
Leonsis also owns the NHL’s Washington Capitals, WNBA’s Mystics, and the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. Winger will oversee the Wizards, Mystics and Go-Go.
Although one report suggested Winger might not hire a No. 2 executive until after the draft and free agency, the team stated the search will be undertaken immediately, and Robbins’ sources inform him that Winger will look to hire someone within the next couple weeks. The new hire will likely have a “relatively traditional basketball background,” per Robbins.
Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that Thunder vice president of basketball operations Will Dawkins is considered a “strong candidate” for the position. Dawkins worked with Winger for several years in Oklahoma City, Stein notes. Dawkins got his start as an intern with the Thunder in 2008 and has steadily worked his way up in the basketball operations department.
Aldridge believes hiring Winger is a step in the right direction, because it shows Leonsis isn’t satisfied with the status quo. The Wizards have posted five straight losing seasons and haven’t had a 50-win season since 1978/79.
Wizards Hire Michael Winger To Run Front Office
MAY 25: The Wizards have officially hired Winger, the team announced in a press release. Winger and owner Ted Leonsis will immediately undertake a search for a No. 2 basketball operations executive to oversee the Wizards and Go-Go and report directly to Winger.
“Michael’s vast experience and broad range of executive-level skills will provide stability, accountability and leadership for all of our basketball franchises,” said Leonsis. “His influence on helping to restore and sustain excellence at three different teams aligns with our goal of building championship contenders while his collaborative approach supports our shared services structure.”
MAY 24: The Wizards intend to hire Clippers general manager Michael Winger to run their front office, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski, Winger’s title will be president of Monumental Basketball — Monumental Sports and Entertainment is the parent company that controls the Wizards. Winger will also be in charge of the WNBA’s Mystics and the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.
Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, and Ava Wallace of The Washington Post have confirmed the news (all Twitter links) with their own sources.
As Greif notes (Twitter links), Winger was the No. 2 man in Los Angeles under Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank since 2017. According to Greif, since Winger’s responsibilities will also include two other teams, Washington’s organization is still looking for another front office member, presumably a GM, that only oversees the Wizards. That individual would report to Winger.
Winger has been an NBA executive for nearly two decades. He served as the Cavaliers’ director of basketball operations from 2005-10 and then was an assistant general manager with the Thunder under Sam Presti from 2010-17. Winger was atop the Wizards’ wish list for a new lead executive, per Wojnarowski.
Winger has drawn interest from rival teams since joining the Clippers, but he had consistently turned down those overtures until now. The Timberwolves, for instance, sought an interview with him when they were seeking a new head of basketball operations in 2019, but he opted to pass on that opportunity and remain in L.A.
Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon was the only other known candidate to interview for the Wizards’ front office vacancy, though they were linked to a few other names. A former first-round pick, Langdon started his front office career as a scout and assistant GM prior to claiming the Pelicans’ GM job in 2019.
Former Wizards president Tommy Sheppard was dismissed in April after the team went 35-47 and missed the play-in tournament and playoffs each of the past two seasons. The Wizards won a combined 59 games in Sheppard’s first two years in charge after he was promoted in 2019.
Determining what to do with Bradley Beal (max contract, no-trade clause), Kyle Kuzma (unrestricted free agent) and Kristaps Porzingis ($36MM player option) are among the most immediate questions facing the Wizards this offseason, as we noted in our preview. It will be interesting to see how Winger impacts the roster with the draft and free agency coming up in the next handful of weeks.
Gabe Vincent Listed As Out For Game 5
Miami will have to try to close out the Eastern Conference Finals Thursday night without Gabe Vincent, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Heat guard will miss Game 5 due to a sprained left ankle, sources tell Charania.
Vincent suffered the injury late in Tuesday’s game when he landed awkwardly after a jump shot. He had been listed as questionable to play tonight, but the ankle apparently hasn’t recovered enough after a full day of treatment.
The impending free agent has been an important contributor for Miami throughout the playoffs, starting all 15 games so far and averaging 13.1 points and 4.1 assists per night. Vincent poured in a career-high 29 points and connected on 6-of-9 three-point attempts in a Game 3 victory.
The Heat are already shorthanded in the backcourt as Tyler Herro remains sidelined with a broken right hand and Victor Oladipo is out with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. The loss of Vincent leaves Kyle Lowry as the only natural point guard in Miami’s playoff rotation.
If Boston wins tonight, Vincent will have two more days to recover before Game 6, which would take place Saturday in Miami.
Malcolm Brogdon Has Partially Torn Tendon In Right Elbow
Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon has been playing through a significant injury, as he suffered a partially torn tendon in his right elbow during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, reports Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Sources tell Weiss that Brogdon was initially dealing with a sore elbow during Boston’s second-round series against Philadelphia, but it got worse when he tore the tendon boxing out Kevin Love in the first quarter of Game 1 vs Miami. An MRI confirmed the injury.
According to Weiss, Brodgon has been dealing with “pain and swelling in his arm and wrist,” affecting his ability to shoot comfortably. Weiss points out that Brogdon, the Sixth Man of the Year winner, shot 44.4% from three-point range during the season but is just 3-of-14 during the Miami series, which Boston trails 3-1.
Brogdon has also limited his pregame shooting to mitigate the pain and has been driving more to compensate, per Weiss. The veteran guard is just 1-of-11 for two total points over the past two games, so clearly the injury has been limiting his effectiveness. He had posted solid numbers (14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists on .446/.435/.846 shooting) in the 13 playoff games prior to tearing the tendon.
Despite the discomfort, Brogdon plans to keep playing through the injury and will determine whether or not surgery is necessary after the season concludes, sources tell Weiss.
Winger To Have “Carte Blanche” Over Wizards’ Roster
New team president Michael Winger, who had been the Clippers’ GM since 2017, will have “carte blanche” to potentially overhaul the Wizards‘ roster going forward, writes Ava Wallace of The Washington Post.
Winger has been tasked by owner Ted Leonsis to develop an “identity” as well as “setting a fresh direction for the team,” according to Wallace.
Echoing a previous report, Wallace says Winger will hire a “general manager-type figure” to focus solely on the roster, though she suggests that may happen after the draft and free agency. Winger is also responsible for the WNBA’s Mystics and the G League’s Capital City Go-Go, which are owned by Leonsis’ Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the parent company that controls the Wizards.
The veteran executive is expected to be “empowered” to change the team’s coaching staff as well, Wallace reports. However, it sounds unlikely that head coach Wes Unseld Jr. will be going anywhere, at least for now, as he’s a favorite of Leonsis and is well-regarded within the Wizards, sources tell Wallace.
Wallace writes that Winger has a positive reputation amongst work colleagues, who refer to him as a “crucial voice” within the Clippers who is known as a “fair negotiator ready to lead his own organization.” While the 43-year-old didn’t speak to the media as a Clippers executive, Wallace hears he’s a “strong internal communicator” who’s adept at breaking down advanced concepts, including aspects of the CBA, into “layman’s terms.”
“He’s really good at seeing the whole board,” one executive who has worked with Winger told Wallace. “He’s super organized and really smart. Process-driven to the nth degree. He won’t be reckless or let his team make big mistakes.”
“Several” Cap Space Teams To Show Interest In Austin Reaves?
The Lakers‘ Austin Reaves is an impending restricted free agent, and the second-year guard is expected to receive “interest and potential offer sheets” from “several” cap space teams this offseason, multiple team and league sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
However, Buha is the latest reporter to say the Lakers plan to match possible offer sheets for both Reaves and fourth-year forward Rui Hachimura, another restricted free agent. Buha actually goes a step further, as his sources say the Lakers would match anything up to those players’ maximum salaries.
L.A. only has Reaves’ Early Bird rights, so his max from a rival team would be a back-loaded deal worth approximately $100MM+ over four years. Hachimura’s max over four seasons would be worth about $144MM. Those projections are based on a $134MM cap.
I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Reaves, who has said he wants to stay with the Lakers, got his full max offer sheet from a rival team that really likes him and wouldn’t mind putting the squeeze on the Lakers at the same time. The reason I say that is because, for the Lakers’ purposes, he would be making about $37.5MM annually over the final two seasons.
On the other hand, a potential offer sheet team with cap space would be paying Reaves about $25MM for each of the four years. While a rival can offer $100MM across four years, the Lakers can only directly offer about $52MM over four years, but they can match any offer sheet up to his max.
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For a point of reference, such a deal would be comparable to the contracts signed by Anfernee Simons (four years, $100MM) and Jalen Brunson (four years, $104MM) last summer. I’m not sure how likely it is Reaves actually gets an offer that high, but still.
Reaves, who turns 25 next week, averaged 13.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 3.4 APG on .529/.398/.864 shooting line in 64 regular season games in 2022/23 (22 starts, 28.8 MPG).
Interestingly, it turned out he was the perhaps the primary beneficiary of the Russell Westbrook trade, as his production and usage continued to rise after the move. Reaves averaged 16.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 5.0 APG on an elite .577/.456/.843 shooting line over the last 27 games (29.5 MPG) of the regular season, with the Lakers going 18-9 over that span despite LeBron James being sidelined for 13 contests (they went 8-5 without him).
Reaves was the team’s third-best player in the postseason as well, bolstering his averages with 16.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 4.6 APG. His efficiency dropped a bit, but he still shot an excellent .464/.443/.895 over the Lakers’ 16 playoff games (36.2 MPG).
Hachimura was acquired in January from the Wizards. He averaged 9.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG on .485/.296/.721 shooting in 33 regular season games with the Lakers (22.4 MPG), and followed that up with a scorching-hot postseason, averaging 12.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .557/.387/.882 shooting in 16 games (24.3 MPG). I’d be more surprised if Hachimura signs an offer sheet simply because the Lakers can offer more money and potentially more years than a rival team can, which isn’t the case with Reaves.
Nurse, Vogel, Rivers Among Finalists For Suns’ Job
The Suns have narrowed their list of head coaching candidates to five — Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers, Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez and Suns assistant Kevin Young, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The five finalists will meet with new owner Mat Ishbia, team president James Jones and other team executives in Michigan this week, according to Charania (Twitter link). Ishbia is a Michigan native and played basketball for Michigan State. His mortgage lending company, United Wholesale Mortgage, is also based in Michigan.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that there are four finalists, omitting Vogel.
Phoenix dismissed Monty Williams after its second-round playoff exit.
Nurse has seemingly positioned himself to get another coaching job quickly after parting ways with the Raptors after the season. He’s also a finalist for the Bucks’ head coaching job and a candidate for the Sixers’ head coaching vacancy.
Vogel, who coached the Lakers to a championship in 2020, interviewed for the Sixers’ job on Tuesday. Vogel was also linked to the Bucks’ job but isn’t among the reported finalists.
Rivers was fired just a week ago by the Sixers but was said to be open to coaching again next season if the right opportunity arose.
Fernandez, who served as Mike Brown‘s top assistant with Sacramento this season, is also a candidate for Nurse’s former job. Young was a candidate for the Bucks’ job, but didn’t make the final cut.
One prominent name not included on the Suns’ list of finalists is former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier today that Budenholzer wasn’t considered a leading candidate in Phoenix.
Sixers Interview Frank Vogel For Head Coaching Job
Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel interviewed for the Sixers’ head coaching job on Tuesday, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia tweets.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer confirms that the New Jersey native was interviewed by Philadelphia’s brass as it searches for Doc Rivers’ replacement. Vogel was one of the big names that popped up after Rivers’ dismissal. Vogel was linked to the Bucks’ job but isn’t among the reported finalists.
Vogel was an assistant with the Sixers early in his career (2004-05). He was the Pacers’ head coach from 2011-16 and the Magic’s head coach from 2016-18. He got the Lakers’ job in 2019 and coached them to a championship in the Orlando bubble in 2020. He was dismissed after the 2021/22 season.
Vogel has a .526 career regular-season winning percentage and a .557 mark in the playoffs.
The Sixers are also expected to interview Nick Nurse, the Raptors’ former head coach, among other candidates.
Nikola Jokic Named MVP Of Western Conference Finals
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was named the Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference Finals after Denver completed its four-game sweep of the Lakers on Monday, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
A panel of nine media members voted on the award and Jokic was the unanimous choice, receiving all nine votes (Twitter link).
The decision came as no surprise, given that Jokic continued his historic postseason run in four consecutive victories over the Lakers, registering triple-doubles in three of those four games and averaging 27.8 PPG, 14.5 RPG, and 11.8 APG on .506/.471/.778 shooting.
Over the course of 15 playoff games, including 12 Nuggets wins, Jokic has put up 29.9 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 10.3 APG with a shooting line of .538/.474/.784.
Jokic is the second player to win the Magic Johnson Trophy as the Western Finals MVP, joining Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who earned the honor in 2022. The NBA introduced the award – along with the Larry Bird Trophy for the Eastern Finals MVP – during the 2022 playoffs.
Asked after Denver’s victory about winning the Western Finals MVP award after finishing as the runner-up to Joel Embiid in the regular season MVP voting, Jokic defended the Sixers center, whose team was eliminated in the second round. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets, Jokic said Embiid had an incredible year and deserved MVP honors, adding that people who say Embiid didn’t deserve to win it are being “mean.”