Suns Vice Chairman Jahm Najafi Requests Sarver’s Resignation
The NBA’s decision to suspend Suns owner Robert Sarver for the 2022/23 season and fine him $10MM after an independent investigation determined his behavior had created a toxic workplace atmosphere received significant criticism from many important voices around the league. Prominent NBA writers and some of its best players, as well as NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, all expressed that the punishment for Sarver was less severe than he deserved.
It appears that a figure within the team’s ownership group shares that view.
Suns vice chairman and minority owner Jahm Najafi issued a statement internally, to Suns players and employees, in response to the suspension, reports Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
Najafi called for Sarver to step down from his ownership position in a more permanent manner, and stated that he will work to find a suitable replacement who treats all employees with equitable respect.
“There should be zero tolerance for discriminatory actions of any level, in any setting, let alone a professional one,” Najafi wrote, in part. “I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege.
“Therefore, in accordance with my commitment to helping eradicate any form of racism, sexism and bias, as Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, I am calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver,” Najafi continued. “While I have no interest in becoming the managing partner, I will work tirelessly to ensure the next team steward treats all stakeholders with dignity, professionalism and respect.”
A report earlier today indicated that both of Sarver’s basketball franchises – the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury – will be governed by another Suns vice chairman and minority owner, Sam Garvin, during Sarver’s absence this season.
Garvin has been more sympathetic toward Sarver during this process — he was among several Suns minority stakeholders who supported Sarver’s character with a signed statement last fall.
Damian Lillard Still Plans To Finish Career With Blazers
Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard recently spoke to play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch on his podcast, and the two covered a number of topics, with Lillard reiterating that he expects to spend the rest of his playing career in Portland.
“I do, I do,” he said. “I’ve had my share of people saying ‘Man, you got to get out of there! You’ve got to do this; you’ve got do to that.’ But I’m the type of person that I’m never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else’s drum. I’m gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart. I’ve said this on many different occasions, they call it ‘He’s being loyal!’ and ‘Loyalty this, loyalty that’ and I’m like, I’m naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization.
“But this loyalty that they’re talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person. I’m being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself because I’m somebody that, I believe what I believe. I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say ‘There’s no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.’ But that’s just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we’ll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that’s that. As long as I feel that our organization is putting their best foot forward and we’re on the same page about doing everything we can do to win, then I’m willing to go out swinging…I would love to finish my career here and that’s my plan.”
Here are a few more of the most notable quotes from the Blazers’ star point guard:
On how he’s feeling now after abdominal surgery in January:
“I feel great. It had been about four-and-a-half years that I had been dealing with the abdominal injury. Obviously, toward the end it was much worse than when I first started to experience it…It just reached the point where it was unbearable. Had I known the significance of the injury two, three years ago, I would have done what I had to do to handle it then, but I just didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know it was a situation where I needed surgery.”
On Portland’s revamped roster entering 2022/23:
“We’ve got a lot of guys, that, we have the makings of being a good team. Whether or not we’re going to be a great team, things have to go well. You need some favor, you need a little bit of luck. And you’ve just got to be a team that’s not fun to play against. We’re going to have to grind it out and go take stuff. But I love where we are right now. In this moment, I love where we are.”
On players whose games Lillard admires and would love to play with:
“Well, one of those players was Jerami Grant…and we got him…Without saying star players’ names, because obviously there’s a bunch of stars I would love to play with…If I had to say a player right now who I would want to add to our team, I would say somebody like Mikal Bridges, or OG Anunoby, or Jarred Vanderbilt, somebody like that. One of those three. I love those three guys…They defend, they all have really good size, they can make shots…They’re tough, they’re competitive.”
Warriors’ Myers Talks Roster, Payroll, Iguodala, Wiseman, More
Appearing on The TK Show with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers said he expects to open the 2022/23 season with just 14 players under contract, leaving one opening on the team’s 15-man roster. However, he left the door open for that to change.
“I think we’d like to stay at 14, barring somebody that just snatches it,” Myers said. “But we said the same thing last year. If you would’ve been doing this podcast with me last year at the same time, I would’ve said the same thing. And (Gary) Payton (II) came along and took that job and put us in a spot where he kind of forced our hand to add him to the roster. If somebody does that (we’d keep them) — you know (team owner) Joe (Lacob) as good as I do, he wants to win. But I don’t see that. I actually hope it doesn’t happen because it’s just another big chunk on top of a pretty big payroll.”
Addressing the Warriors’ record-setting payroll, Myers acknowledged that there are “constraints,” but he said he has never been given a specific line that he can’t cross and that those financial decisions are made on a situational basis.
Golden State’s long-term cap outlook will play a role in the team’s ability to lock up Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green, all of whom can reach free agency in 2023. Myers told Kawakami that he hopes the franchise can find a way to retain all three players long-term.
“We’ve had conversations with all three players (and) their representatives. I’m not going to get into the likelihood or not of any of them getting done, but we know how important they are. I don’t know that we win a championship last year if you take any of them away,” Myers said. “… Too early for me to say what will happen or won’t happen, but the goal is to keep those guys, all three of them, as long as we can. But again, there’s a financial component.”
Here’s more from the Warriors’ top basketball executive:
- The Warriors expect a decision from Andre Iguodala soon and are hoping that he decides to return to the team for at least one more year. “He’s one of the few people in the world who can look (Stephen) Curry or Draymond or Klay (Thompson) in the eye and meet them at their level, but also grab a Jordan Poole or (James) Wiseman or (Jonathan) Kuminga and speak to them and encourage them,” Myers told Kawakami. “There’s no one else in the league that can do that for our team. And we think he can still play and help us in certain spots. So we really want him back. This isn’t like a charity thing. It’s not, ‘Oh, you know, we can’t not say yes to Andre because he’s won championships.’ We have pursued him more than he has pursued us.”
- Myers acknowledged that the Warriors could use one more ball-handler, but suggested the team may not address that need right away. “If you’re talking about just a point guard, that player probably only plays if Curry or Poole is out. So you’re talking about 12 minutes if one of them is out,” Myers said, noting that the team could use a two-way slot to sign that sort of player. “… That also may be a situation where if (an injury) does happen and we need to add, we would add on the fly rather than rostering somebody right away. … That’s where the latitude of the 15th spot may be good too, to see how things break, and if we need a guard, we can add one as we go.”
- Myers expects rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. (ankle) and Ryan Rollins (foot) to be ready to go for training camp. “Patrick’s been playing pick-up for the last few weeks and Ryan’s just about to start,” he told Kawakami.
- Barring another injury this fall, there’s “no reason to think” the Warriors won’t exercise Wiseman’s fourth-year rookie scale option for 2023/24 by next month’s deadline, according to Myers. That option would pay the former No. 2 overall pick approximately $12.1MM.
Celtics Officially Sign Jake Layman, Justin Jackson, Denzel Valentine
The Celtics have officially completed three previously reported deals with veteran free agents, signing forward Jake Layman, swingman Justin Jackson, and guard Denzel Valentine to their training camp roster, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.
A report in August indicated that Valentine would be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston. The exact terms of the team’s agreements with Layman and Jackson, which were reported more recently, aren’t known, but those are presumably non-guaranteed camp deals as well.
All three veterans are expected to take part in a preseason competition for one of the Celtics’ back-end roster spots. The club currently has 10 players with guaranteed standard contracts, plus Al Horford with a significant partial guarantee. That leaves three – or possibly four – spots available on the regular season roster for a group of players with non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed salaries.
Besides Layman, Jackson, and Valentine, those camp invitees vying for roster spots includes Noah Vonleh, Luke Kornet, and Bruno Caboclo. Two-way players Mfiondu Kabengele and JD Davison could also be in the mix for promotions to standard contracts. Boston has one more open spot on its 20-man offseason roster, with restricted free agent Brodric Thomas among the top candidates to fill it.
A second-round pick in 2016, Layman has appeared in 243 regular season games across six NBA seasons in Portland and Minnesota. In total, the former Maryland forward – who is a Massachusetts native – has averaged 4.8 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .460/.300/.719 shooting in 12.8 minutes per contest over the course of his NBA career.
Jackson, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2017 draft, signed two 10-day contracts with the Suns last season and one with the Celtics, appearing in seven total games (just one with Boston). In Las Vegas this July, he averaged 15.0 PPG in four appearances (29.0 MPG) for Boston’s Summer League squad.
The 14th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Valentine spent the first five years of his NBA career in Chicago before signing last offseason with the Cavaliers. He played a minor role in 22 games for Cleveland, then was dealt in January to the Knicks, who waived him. Following a 10-day contract with the Jazz, Valentine played in the G League for the rest of the 2021/22 season. Considered a strong three-point shooter, Valentine has made 36.0% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 256 NBA appearances (18.8 MPG).
LeBron, Paul, NBPA Director React To Sarver Decision
The NBA continues to receive criticism for its ruling in the Robert Sarver case, including a scathing review from its most prominent player.
In a pair of tweets tonight, LeBron James said the league “definitely got this wrong” in reference to Commissioner Adam Silver‘s decision to suspend Sarver for one year and fine him $10MM rather than taking action to force him to sell the team.
“Read through the Sarver stories a few times now,” James wrote. “I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong. I don’t need to explain why. Y’all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I’m gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this ain’t it.”
Also reacting was Suns star Chris Paul, who agrees that Sarver deserves much stronger sanctions. Paul has largely avoided comment on the topic since the allegations against his team’s owner were made public last November, other than to stress the need to avoid letting it become a distraction. But tonight he issued a strong statement disapproving of Sarver’s behavior.
“Like many others, I reviewed the report. I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated,” Paul tweeted. “I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected.” (Twitter link)
A nearly year-long investigation of Sarver determined that he used racially insensitive language in the workplace, including the N-word at least five times while recounting – or purporting to recount – statements from other people. He also treated female employees poorly, making many sex-related comments and inappropriate statements about their appearance, according to the report from the law firm that conducted the investigation.
Silver’s decision also drew a rebuke from NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, who called Sarver’s actions “horrible” and said they “have no place in our sport or any workplace for that matter.” (Twitter link)
“Additionally, the investigation confirmed that Mr. Sarver’s deplorable behavior did not just come to light in November 2021,” she tweeted. “In fact, the report indicated Mr. Sarver’s long history of inappropriate conduct, including racial and gender insensitivity, misogyny and harassment. All issues that led to a toxic work environment for well over a decade. I have made my position known to Adam Silver regarding my thoughts on the extent of the punishment, and strongly believe that Mr. Sarver should never hold a managerial position within our league again.” (Twitter link)
Donovan Mitchell Was Expecting To Be Traded To Knicks
The Cavaliers welcomed Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland today for his introductory press conference, but there was no way to escape questions about the Knicks, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
The Cavs’ trade for Mitchell was a surprise development that came after weeks of negotiations between New York and the Jazz. The teams seemed like natural trading partners, with Utah seeking draft picks and the Knicks having an abundance to offer. Mitchell, a native of the New York City area, expected to return home and admitted that’s where he was hoping to go.
“Who doesn’t want to be home, next to their mom,” Mitchell told reporters. “I haven’t lived at home since I was in the eighth grade and I went to boarding school, so it would have been nice.”
That doesn’t mean Mitchell has any regrets about the way things turned out. He confirmed a rumor that he was “running around crazy” on a Miami Beach golf course when he learned that the Cavs were able to acquire him without giving up core players Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert. Mitchell said he’s thrilled to be with such a talented team, which he believes can eventually become among the best in the Eastern Conference.
“Once I found out I got traded and what we were going into, that trumped everything for me,” he said. “I am truly excited to be here, to be a part of this group, to be a part of this city.”
Mitchell was a franchise cornerstone for five years with the Jazz after being selected with the 13th pick in the 2017 draft. He has been an All-Star the past three seasons and was a leader on one of the top teams in the West, but Utah’s lack of playoff success led to major changes this summer. Mitchell said he had a strong feeling that he was going to be traded after the deal sending Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves was announced.
Mitchell also talked about having a Cavaliers jersey when he was younger and said he became a fan of the team after LeBron James returned in 2014. He may be the franchise’s most important acquisition since James left for L.A., and he’ll play an important role as Cleveland tries to reach the playoffs for the first time since making four straight trips to the NBA Finals.
“On paper, we look scary, but at the end of the day we have to go out and do the work,” Mitchell said. “I can’t sit here and tell you like, yeah, this is a championship team. We’ve got to go out and prove it every night.”
Adam Silver Addresses Suspension Of Suns’ Owner
The law firm that conducted the investigation into Suns owner Robert Sarver saved him a harsher penalty by determining that his use of slurs “was not motivated by racial animus,” writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Speaking after today’s Board of Governors meeting, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters that he would have imposed more serious sanctions against Sarver if not for that finding. Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10MM following a nearly year-long investigation of his workplace behavior.
“I think if they had made findings that, in fact, his conduct was motivated by racial animus, absolutely that would have had an impact on the ultimate outcome here,” Silver said. “But that’s not what they found.”
Silver drew a distinction between Sarver’s actions and those of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life and fined $2.5MM when his racist comments were brought to light in 2014. The commissioner could have imposed a longer suspension for Sarver, but the $10MM fine is the maximum allowed under league rules. Silver said there were no discussions with the Board of Governors about forcing Sarver to sell the team.
Sarver also cooperated with the investigation and issued an apology for his actions once the findings were announced. Sterling’s case was more contentious, and he eventually filed a $1 billion federal lawsuit against the NBA.
“This case is very different,” Silver said. “It’s not that one was captured on tape and the other isn’t. … Mr. Sarver ultimately acknowledged his behavior.”
Working in Sarver’s favor, Silver added, were several anonymous details that couldn’t be included in the investigative report that was released Tuesday, along with positive interviews with people that Sarver has worked with in his 18 years of owning the Suns and the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.
“There were these terrible things,” Silver said. “There are also many, many people with very positive things to say about him through this process. And ultimately, I took all of that into account in making the decision that the one-year suspension plus the fine was appropriate.”
Silver confirmed that Sarver will be welcomed back to the NBA when his suspension ends in September 2023. However, he said the league will be watching Sarver closely once he’s reinstated.
“I don’t have the right to take away his team,” Silver said. “I don’t want to rest on that legal point because of course there could be a process to take away someone’s team in this league. It’s very involved, and I ultimately made the decision that it didn’t rise to that level. But to me, the consequences are severe here on Mr. Sarver.”
Also at the press conference, Silver commented on tampering investigations involving the Knicks and Sixers, saying the actions were a result of the “tick tock chronology around sort of when signings are permissible and the announcements of those signings and the information that came out about it,” tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.
Silver said the investigations were launched by the league office and weren’t a result of complaints by rival teams (Twitter link). He added that the league hopes to resolve both cases “in the next few weeks.”
KZ Okpala Signs With Kings
SEPTEMBER 14: The signing is now official, the Kings announced in a press release.
JULY 15: The Kings have reached a two-year agreement with free agent forward KZ Okpala, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The deal was confirmed by Okpala’s agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA.
Okpala spent the past three seasons with the Heat, playing a combined 63 games. He got into 21 games last season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per night, before being traded to the Thunder at the February deadline. Oklahoma City waived him two days later and he has been out of the league since then.
The 23-year-old has experience playing for new Sacramento coach Mike Brown as part of the Nigerian national team, Haynes notes (Twitter link).
Celtics Expected To Sign Jake Layman, Justin Jackson
The Celtics intend to sign free agent forward Jake Layman to a training camp contract, a source tells Bobby Manning of CLNS Media. The report has since been confirmed by Souichi Terada and Brian Robb of MassLive.com.
A second-round pick in 2017, Layman has appeared in 243 regular season games across six NBA seasons in Portland and Minnesota. Although he was a regular rotation player for the Timberwolves in 2019/20 after signing a three-year contract with the team, Layman was limited to 23 appearances that season due to a toe injury and didn’t have a consistent role during the following two seasons.
In total, the former Maryland forward – who is a Massachusetts native – has averaged 4.8 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .460/.300/.719 shooting in 12.8 minutes per contest over the course of his NBA career.
Within his report on Layman, Manning says the same source confirmed that Justin Jackson will be joining the Celtics for training camp as well. Jackson, a forward who was drafted with the No. 15 overall pick in 2017, had a strong Summer League run with Boston in July and has long been rumored as a possible camp invitee.
Jackson signed two 10-day contracts with the Suns last season and one with the Celtics, appearing in seven total games (just one with Boston). In Las Vegas this summer, he averaged 15.0 PPG in four appearances (29.0 MPG) for Boston’s Summer League squad.
Assuming the Celtics make it official with both Layman and Jackson, the two veterans join the competition for one of the team’s open regular season roster spots. Boston has 10 players with guaranteed contracts, plus Al Horford with a significant partial guarantee. That leaves three – or possibly four – spots available for a group of players with non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed salaries.
Luke Kornet, Noah Vonleh, and Bruno Caboclo have already been added to the Celtics’ training camp roster. Layman, Jackson, and Denzel Valentine are expected to join them. If all three officially sign, the club will have 19 total players under contract, including JD Davison and Mfiondu Kabengele on two-way deals.
Agent Says Joe Harris Is “100 Percent” After Ankle Surgeries
Nets swingman Joe Harris is fully recovered after undergoing two surgeries on his left ankle and will be ready for the start of training camp, his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Bartelstein confirmed that Harris has been medically cleared for 5-on-5 play.
“He’s doing great. He’s great,” Bartelstein said. “He’s 100 percent. He’s in a great place.”
Harris was limited to 14 games last season after injuring the ankle in mid-November. His first surgery was to remove a bone particle in the ankle, and he was projected to return within four to eight weeks. Brooklyn announced in March that he would need ligament reconstruction surgery and would miss the rest of the season.
The Nets’ three-point shooting suffered without Harris, who led the NBA in that category during the 2020/21 season by hitting 47.5% from beyond the arc. Lewis notes that Brooklyn had an effective field-goal percentage of .563 during the brief time that Harris played last season, but that number fell to .537 without him.
Harris is one of five Nets who will be coming off surgery when training camp opens, along with Seth Curry, Ben Simmons, T.J. Warren and Edmond Sumner.
There was a report in July that Brooklyn wanted to unload Harris’ contract, which pays him $38.6MM over the next two seasons, in trade talks with the Lakers involving Kyrie Irving. However, Lewis hears that the team had always planned to keep him.
“I know he’s someone they value at the highest level,” Bartelstein said. “There’s no question about that.”