Steve Nash Out As Nets’ Coach
The embattled Nets have decided to make a coaching change after their 2-5 start. Steve Nash is being replaced as head coach, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic reporting that Nash and the team have agreed to part ways (Twitter links).
“We want to thank Steve for everything he brought to our franchise over the past two-plus seasons,” general manager Sean Marks said in a press release announcing the move. “Since becoming head coach, Steve was faced with a number of unprecedented challenges, and we are sincerely grateful for his leadership, patience and humility throughout his tenure. Personally, this was an immensely difficult decision; however, after much deliberation and evaluation of how the season has begun, we agreed that a change is necessary at this time. We wish Steve, Lilla and their family all the best in the future.”
Assistant coach Jacque Vaughn will take over as acting head coach for tonight’s game against the Bulls, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Vaughn also served as the team’s interim coach when Kenny Atkinson was fired in 2020, and he was widely considered to be the favorite to become the permanent head coach before the team opted for Nash.
The Nets are expected to consider suspended Celtics head coach Ime Udoka and former Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). He adds that Boston is willing to part with Udoka if he receives an offer. Brooklyn’s front office has “quietly done due diligence” on the circumstances that led to Udoka’s suspension, reports Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).
[UPDATE: Nets Plan To Hire Ime Udoka As Head Coach]
Nash’s status became an issue this summer amid Kevin Durant‘s trade request. In a meeting with team owner Joe Tsai to try to resolve their differences, Durant reportedly expressed a lack of confidence in Nash and Marks and asked for them both to be dismissed.
Nash attempted to smooth things over with Durant and told reporters at media day that their relationship was solid. However, the team’s slow start led to a growing realization that some type of change had to be made, and management decided to start with the head coach.
Nash tweeted out a statement thanking Tsai and Marks for the chance to coach the team and called it “an amazing experience with many challenges that I’m incredibly grateful for.”
“It was a pleasure to work with the performance team, front office and players everyday,” Nash wrote. “I’m especially grateful to my coaching staff and video room who are a talented group with so much character and professionalism.”
Nash compiled a 94-67 record in two-plus seasons with Brooklyn, but he was only able to win one playoff series. The Nets were swept out of the playoffs by the Celtics in the first round last season.
Spurs Rookie Blake Wesley Sidelined 6-8 Weeks
Spurs rookie guard Blake Wesley will miss six-to-eight weeks due to a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune reports.
Wesley suffered the injury during the second quarter against Minnesota on Sunday when he bumped knees with Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels.
Wesley was the 25th overall pick of the June draft after playing one season at Notre Dame, where he led the Irish in scoring (14.4 PPG). He was making just his second NBA appearance against the Timberwolves after contributing 10 points and four assists in 15 minutes against Chicago on Friday.
Wesley got a chance to join the rotation when the Spurs abruptly waived Joshua Primo last week after Primo allegedly exposing himself to women. Wesley’s injury could force San Antonio to make a move to shore up its backcourt depth.
Former Spurs Guard Joshua Primo Goes Unclaimed
Joshua Primo went unclaimed on Monday after the Spurs placed him on waivers on Friday night, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
It’s not surprising, given the circumstances surrounding San Antonio’s decision to cut ties with Primo, the 12th pick of the 2021 draft. Primo had multiple allegations of indecent exposure lodged against him. A former female Spurs employee has hired legal representation after Primo allegedly exposed himself to her.
San Antonio exercised its $4.3MM option on his contract for the 2023/24 season shortly before it waived Primo, who had a $4.1MM salary this season. If a team had claimed him, it would have been obligated to pay him this season’s salary as well as the $4.3MM option for 2023/24 that the Spurs picked up.
Now an unrestricted free agent, Primo has pledged to focus on his mental health treatment. He played 50 games as a rookie and made 16 starts. He was used off the bench in four games this season, averaging 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 23.3 minutes per game.
Sixers Lose 2023, 2024 Second-Round Picks Due To Gun-Jumping
After discovering that the Sixers held early free agent discussions with forwards P.J. Tucker and Danuel House prior to the permitted date, the NBA announced today (via Twitter) that it has rescinded the team’s 2023 and 2024 second-round picks.
The league noted that Philadelphia “fully cooperated” with its investigation into tampering, or “gun-jumping.” The Sixers released a statement confirming the news (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps).
“The Philadelphia 76ers fully cooperated with the NBA’s investigation and acknowledge the league’s ruling. We’re moving forward, focused on the season ahead.”
As Shams Charania of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), while the NBA did dock the Sixers for the early discussions with Tucker and House, it found no wrongdoing with James Harden‘s significant pay cut, which gave the Sixers the flexibility to use their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Tucker and their bi-annual exception to sign House. Both players previously played with Harden on the Rockets under former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who is now Philadelphia’s top basketball executive.
Some around the league have wondered whether the Sixers and Harden already have a future deal in place, which is against the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Such a handshake agreement would involve declining his player option in 2023 and signing a lucrative new contract at that time.
Marc Stein first reported that the Sixers were likely to face a tampering investigation, and he was also one of the first reporters to link Tucker to Philadelphia, with rival teams reportedly convinced that Tucker was signing a three-year deal for the mid-level multiple days before free agency officially opened.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the NBA and the Players Association are expected to discuss tampering and the punishments that teams face when found guilty, as early free agent discussions are “rampant, but hard to police and largely impossible to eliminate.” The two sides are currently in early negotiations for a new CBA.
Sixers Pick Up Options On Maxey, Springer
The Sixers have exercised the fourth-year contract option for starting guard Tyrese Maxey for the 2023/24 season, according to a team press release. They’ve done the same on the the third-year option for Jaden Springer.
Maxey, one of the league’s top young point men, will make $4,343,920 next season. He was the 21st pick of the 2020 draft.
Maxey is one of the league’s biggest bargains right now. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.
Springer, the No. 28 selection of the 2021 draft, has only appeared in four NBA games, including two this season. He played 19 games for the G League Delaware Blue Coats last season. The 20-year-old guard will take in $2,226,240 next season.
Rockets Exercise Options On Green, Sengun, Garuba, Christopher
6:55pm: The Rockets have officially picked up their options on all four players, according to a press release from the team.
6:20pm: The Rockets plan to pick up the 2023/24 contract options of all four players they drafted last season — lottery pick Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher — Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.
It was a mere formality that the options of Green and Sengun would be picked up. They are two key building blocks for one of the youngest teams in the league. The option on Green’s contract is $9,891,480, while Sengun will take in $3,536,280.
The other option decisions weren’t quite as obvious. Garuba only appeared in 24 games last season due to injuries and he’s averaging just over 12 minutes in four appearances this season. However, the front office was encouraged by his performances for Spain in the Eurobasket tournament and by what he displayed in training camp and preseason workouts, according to Feigen.
Christopher saw action in 74 games as a rookie, though his playing time has dropped in the early going this year. Garuba’s contract will be guaranteed at $2,588,400, while Christopher will earn $2,485,200.
Pistons Sign Bojan Bogdanovic To Two-Year Extension
6:00pm: The deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
3:45pm: Veteran Pistons power forward Bojan Bogdanovic is signing a two-year, $39.1MM contract extension to remain in Detroit, his agency Wasserman informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
As Wojnarowski notes, Bogdanovic is earning $19.5MM in 2022/23, the last year of his current deal. This new agreement, which has virtually the same annual average value, will keep him under team control through 2024/25.
According to Wojnarowski, when Pistons GM Troy Weaver traded for Bogdanovic, he had his sights set on extending the sharpshooting ace long-term.
The 6’7″ power forward, a nine-year NBA veteran, has started all of his first six games with Detroit since being traded from the Jazz during the offseason. He is averaging 23.0 PPG on .517/.511/.923 shooting, while chipping in 3.5 RPG and 2.0 APG.
Though the Nets traded for his draft rights as the No. 31 pick in the 2011 draft, Bogdanovic did not make his NBA debut until the 2014/15 season. Prior to Utah and Detroit, the 33-year-old has enjoyed stints on solid playoff clubs in Brooklyn, Washington, and Indiana.
Bogdanovic has thus far served as a helpful stretch-four veteran presence for the rebuilding Pistons. Though Detroit is just 1-5, the team’s longer-term outlook is fairly rosy, given the development of exciting young lottery additions Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren.
With the advent of this new agreement, Bogdanovic, a knockdown long-range shooter (he has made 39.4% of 5.4 three-pointers per game for his career), could remain in Detroit well into the team’s return to the postseason.
Because Bogdanovic’s extension doesn’t lock him up for more than three total seasons and his first-year raise won’t exceed 5%, he’ll remain trade-eligible going forward.
Zion Williamson Back For Pelicans On Sunday
Pelicans star power forward Zion Williamson will make his return to the floor for New Orleans on Sunday, the team has announced (via Twitter). New Orleans is facing off against the mighty Clippers on the road in an afternoon matinee today.
The Pelicans also revealed that standout second-year forward Herb Jones will remain sidelined with a hyperextended right knee. Forward Brandon Ingram is still in the league’s concussion protocols.
Across three healthy games this season, Williamson has averaged 22.0 PPG while connecting on 49.1% of his field goals and 71.4% of his free throws. He is also chipping in 6.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 SPG and 0.7 BPG for New Orleans.
The 6’6″ Duke alum was sidelined for the Pelicans’ prior two contests. He missed all of the 2021/22 NBA season due to a right foot fracture.
Jazz To Decline Rookie Scale Options For Azubuike, Bolmaro
The Jazz won’t pick up the fourth-year option for Udoka Azubuike or the third-year option for Leandro Bolmaro, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Both players will become unrestricted free agents next July.
Azuibuike would have earned $3,923,484 during the 2023/24 season and Bolmaro would have received $2,588,400. The deadline for rookie scale option decisions is Monday, and those are the only two that Utah faces.
Azubuike, a 23-year-old center, was selected by the Jazz with the 27th pick in the 2020 draft. He has dealt with injuries during his brief NBA career and has played a total of 33 games, including one this season. The former Kansas standout is averaging 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game.
Bolmaro, a 22-year-old swingman, was acquired from the Timberwolves this summer in the Rudy Gobert trade. He appeared in 35 games for Minnesota last season and two so far with Utah, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per night. He was the 23rd pick in 2020, but didn’t come to the NBA until 2021.
Joshua Primo Accused Of Exposing Himself To Women
7:28pm: A league source confirms to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News that Primo has multiple allegations of exposing himself (Twitter link).
7:01pm: Primo allegedly exposed himself to a former Spurs female employee, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. She has hired attorney Tony Buzbee, who represented the women involved in the sexual misconduct lawsuits against NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson.
6:10pm: The Spurs‘ release of 2021 lottery pick Joshua Primo was related to multiple allegations that he exposed himself to women, according to Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Those accusations help to explain the team’s unexpected decision to part with a player it valued so highly. San Antonio selected Primo with the 12th pick last year and recently exercised its $4.3MM option for the 2023/24 season, even though the deadline for such a move isn’t until Monday.
In a statement to Wojnarowski after the release was announced Friday, Primo cited “previous trauma” that he suffered. He also promised to focus on his mental health treatment so he would eventually be able to discuss the issues that are affecting him and “help others who have suffered in a similar way.”
Numerous teams are investigating Primo’s situation and have expressed interest in submitting a waiver claim for him, sources tell the authors. To claim him off waivers, a team would need enough cap space or a traded player exception large enough to cover his $4.1MM salary. If a team does claim him, it would also be obligated to pay the $4.3MM option for 2023/24 that the Spurs picked up.
Primo, 19, was the youngest player drafted in 2021, but he played 50 games as a rookie and made 16 starts. He was used off the bench in four games this season, averaging 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 23.3 minutes per night.