Heat Weren’t Aggressive In Pursuit Of Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant reportedly listed Miami as one of his preferred destinations when he demanded a trade from the Nets, but the Heat didn’t make a strong effort to acquire him, Shams Charania of The Athletic said in an appearance on the Stugotz podcast.
Heat officials believed it would cost too much of their roster to trade for Durant, added Charania, who said that the last contact between the two teams regarding Durant occurred either before or during Summer League.
Charania noted that Miami reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season and didn’t see a need for major changes. He pointed to hypothetical trades involving Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro or Adebayo, Max Strus and another player and asked whether that really gets Miami any closer to winning a title.
On top of that, any consideration of trading Adebayo would have been limited by the designated rookie extension rule, which would have prevented the Nets from having both him and Ben Simmons on their roster at the same time. A third team would have been needed to complete a deal, which made the prospects of a trade even less realistic.
Durant also was interested in joining the Suns, but Charania hears that Brooklyn didn’t want Deandre Ayton in return. Ayton became ineligible for a sign-and-trade this summer after Phoenix matched his offer sheet from the Pacers.
Charania said there were opportunities to deal Durant, but no one was willing to meet the Nets’ asking price. The Celtics wouldn’t part with Marcus Smart or Robert Williams along with Jaylen Brown, while the Raptors weren’t willing to include Scottie Barnes in trade talks. Charania said Brooklyn could have made a deal that was heavy on draft compensation with the Suns, Grizzlies or Timberwolves before they sent their assets to Utah for Rudy Gobert, but the Nets were only interested in trades that would keep them competitive.
Danilo Gallinari Diagnosed With Meniscus Tear
The knee injury that Danilo Gallinari suffered Saturday is less serious than originally feared, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Celtics forward tore his left meniscus during a World Cup Qualifier, the Italian National Team announced.
No timetable has been set for his recovery, but Gallinari will definitely miss the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, the Italian team added. NBA training camps open in about four weeks.
Gallinari confirmed the diagnosis on social media (Twitter link) and offered a message to Italian fans (translated by EuroHoops).
“It hurts like hell,” he wrote. “Not so much the knee that it gave up in yesterday’s game that we won again thanks to our character. That will take some time – fortunately less than expected – to get back to normal. It damn hurts to give up this national team dream. We wanted to treat ourselves to magical nights. In my own house. In our house.”
According to an ESPN report, Gallinari limped off the court in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Georgia. Trainers examined the knee on the sidelines, and he was helped to the locker room by a teammate and a staff member. There were immediate concerns that he had suffered ligament damage, including a possible torn ACL, but the Italian team doctor examined him after the game and said the ligament is OK.
“It’s tough to talk about basketball after what we saw happen to Danilo,” Italy captain Luigi Datome said. “We wish him, of course, the best.”
The 34-year-old Gallinari was an important offseason addition for Boston after reaching the NBA Finals last season. He was sent from the Hawks to the Spurs in late June as part of the Dejounte Murray trade and signed with the Celtics for the midlevel exception after reaching a buyout agreement with San Antonio.
The recovery timeline for a torn meniscus can vary significantly depending on how significant the tear is and how the injury is treated. We’ll have to wait for further updates on Gallinari to get a sense of whether his recovery process will take weeks or months.
Terrence Williams Pleads Guilty In Fraud Case Involving NBA’s Benefit Plan
Terrence Williams has entered a guilty plea in a fraud case that includes 17 other former NBA players, according to The Associated Press.
An October 2021 indictment accused the 35-year-old Williams of orchestrating an effort to commit health care fraud and identity theft involving the NBA’s health plan. He submitted his plea Friday in federal court in Manhattan and will be sentenced in January. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy and a mandatory two-year sentence for identity theft.
The scheme involved fake claims and paperwork being submitted to the health plan for reimbursement of medical and dental expenses. Authorities reported that at least $5MM in false claims were turned in by the ex-players from 2017 to 2021.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Terrence Williams received at least $300K in kickbacks as the leader of the scam. He recruited other ex-players to participate and gave them fake paperwork to submit.
Under a plea agreement, Terrence Williams will pay $2.5MM in restitution to the health care plan and will forfeit more than $650K to the federal government. He has been in custody since earlier this year when he was accused of threatening a witness.
Terrence Williams, the 11th selection in the 2009 draft, played for the Nets, Rockets, Kings and Celtics during his four-year NBA career.
Danilo Gallinari Hurts Knee In World Cup Qualifier
Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari suffered an injury to his left knee during today’s FIBA World Cup qualifying game, tweets international basketball writer Cesare Milanti.
Gallinari was hurt on a drive to the basket during the fourth quarter of the contest between Italy and Georgia. He underwent treatment on the sidelines, but didn’t return to the game. An MRI is scheduled for Sunday to determine the full extent of the damage (Twitter link).
Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco originally feared that Gallinari had suffered an ACL tear, but the team doctor examined Gallinari’s left knee ligament, which has been operated on before, and determined that it’s intact.
“I hope and I pray that nothing bad will come out,” Pozzecco said. “It was … it is an honor coaching him. I saw pain in his eyes.”
Gallinari signed a two-year, $13.3MM contract with Boston in July. The seriousness of his injury will determine whether he will be available when training camps open roughly a month from now.
Gary Harris Suffers Torn Meniscus
Magic guard Gary Harris has suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). While it’s unclear how and when he sustained the injury, Harris will undergo further evaluation to determine how much time he’ll miss.
The 27-year-old Harris was a key part of Orlando’s rotation last season. He averaged 11.1 points per game in 61 contests, starting in 30 of them. He also shot 43% from the floor and 38% from downtown.
Aside from his offensive production, the Magic likely value Harris for his locker room leadership. He’s currently the second-oldest player on a young roster, trailing only Terrence Ross (31).
Harris has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his career. Last season was the first time he played more than 60 games since the 2017/18 campaign, which helped him land a two-year, $26MM extension from Orlando. Still, the Magic finished just 22-60 on the year and are expected to continue their rebuilding phase.
Thunder Apply For Disabled Player Exception Due To Holmgren Injury
The Thunder have applied to the NBA for a disabled player exception worth $4.95MM due to the season-ending loss of Chet Holmgren, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The DPE allows a team to sign a player without using cap space. In order for the exception to be granted, an NBA-designated physician must determine that the player is “substantially more likely than not” to be sidelined through at least June 15 of that league year.
If granted, the disabled player exception allows a club to sign a replacement player for 50% of the injured player’s salary, or for the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.
Holmgren has a $9,891,240 salary in his rookie year, so a DPE worth half his salary would work out to $4,945,620.
Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 draft, will miss his entire rookie season after sustaining a right foot injury. The 20-year-old will undergo surgery in the coming weeks and is expected to make a full recovery by the start of 2023/24.
The injury took place during a Seattle pro-am that was later called off due to unsafe (slippery) court conditions.
Jazz Trying To Get Best Mitchell Offers Before Training Camp
The Jazz are trying to get the best trade offers for Donovan Mitchell, particularly from the Knicks, before training camp opens in September, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon said on the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast
Windhorst characterized training camp as an “arbitrary deadline” for the Jazz, noting that it’s a typical negotiating tactic to apply pressure in order to get the best offers.
“Basically they’re trying trying to get the Knicks to put the kind of offer that it will take to get Donovan Mitchell on the table before training camp,” MacMahon said, adding that the Jazz would prefer to avoid first-year head coach Will Hardy having to deal with a “circus” in camp.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps observed that it would behoove both teams to make the trade before camp opens, and MacMahon explained why that’s the case.
“If you’re the Knicks, you’re trying to get this guy and have him be your franchise player, him and (Jalen) Brunson be your new backcourt for now and for years to come,” MacMahon said.
“You want as much time with those guys in the gym together practicing as possible. So I think it’s in both teams’ best interests to get a deal done before camp starts. But it is an artificial deadline, and we all understand that (Jazz president) Danny Ainge is not going to pull the trigger until he gets his price.”
Despite it being less than ideal, holding onto Mitchell into the season is still a viable option for Utah because he still has three years left on his contract, with a fourth-year player option in 2025/26.
While the Cavaliers have reportedly “removed themselves” from Mitchell talks, Windhorst provided an interesting tidbit about the situation before that report came to light.
“Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, those three guys, I heard the Cavs told the Jazz they’re not available,” Windhorst said.
It makes sense that the Cavs would be reluctant to part with their three core players. Both Garland and Allen were first-time All-Stars last season, Mobley was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year, and all three are under contract for multiple seasons.
It’s possible the Jazz said we need one of these three players in return to make a deal and the Cavs ended the discussions, though that’s pure speculation on my part.
David Duke Jr. Likely To Return To Nets On Two-Way Deal
Free agent guard David Duke Jr. will likely rejoin the Nets on his second two-way contract, sources tell Chris Milholen of NetsDaily.
The Nets tendered a two-way contract offer to Duke earlier this summer. Duke had initially passed on the proposal and was reportedly eyeing a spot on Brooklyn’s 15-man standard roster, but it sounds like he’s prepared to accept the two-way offer.
Duke would be Brooklyn’s second two-way player, joining former Wake Forest guard Alondes Williams. As Milholen notes, the 6’5″ guard will earn about $502K (half the rookie minimum) on the deal, and could have his two-way deal converted into a standard contract later on in the season.
After going undrafted out of Providence, Duke averaged 4.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.8 APG in 22 games with Brooklyn for the 2021/22 season. In Summer League play this year, he put up 19.0 PPG on 50% shooting, along with 4.6 RPG and 4.0 APG.
Duke’s return to the fold would bring the total sum of Nets players to 15 ahead of training camp. The team has 12 players inked to fully guaranteed deals, along with the partially-guaranteed contract of Edmond Sumner and the aforementioned duo of two-way players.
Brooklyn can still sign up to five players to its 20-man offseason roster and is reportedly considering some veteran big men for bench depth.
Raptors Sign Second-Rounder Christian Koloko
The Raptors have signed second-round pick Christian Koloko to a multiyear contract, the team announced today in a press release.
According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link), Toronto used a portion of its mid-level exception to give Koloko a three-year contract. He’ll earn $1.5MM in 2022/23 and minimum salaries the following two seasons, Murphy reports.
Since the Raptors already gave Otto Porter Jr. $6MM of their mid-level exception in free agency, using an additional $1.5MM on Koloko will push them over the taxpayer portion ($6,479,000) of the MLE, so Toronto will be hard-capped for the rest of the season, meaning the team will be unable to surpass the tax apron of $156,983,000. Currently, the Raptors’ team salary is below the luxury tax line of $150,267,000, so the hard cap shouldn’t be a pressing issue.
The 33rd pick of June’s draft, Koloko was one of only three remaining players who was drafted, had yet to be signed, and wasn’t expected to play overseas. The other two players are Pelicans forward E.J. Liddell, who unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in Summer League, and Pacers forward Kendall Brown.
The long delay in Koloko’s signing was speculated to be tied to Kevin Durant‘s trade request out of Brooklyn, as the Raptors likely wanted to keep their options open in case of a deal. However, Durant and the Nets are said to be “moving forward” together, and now Toronto has signed its lone 2022 draft pick.
A 7’1″ big man from Cameroon, Koloko most recently played for the Raptors in Summer League, appearing in five games (22 MPG) while averaging 7.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG and a team-high 2.2 BPG.
Koloko played three seasons of college ball at Arizona, earning numerous accolades for his breakout junior season in ’21/22, including Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and first-team All-Pac-12. In 37 games (25.4 MPG) for the Wildcats last season, he averaged 12.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 2.8 BPG while shooting 63.5% from the floor and 73.5% from the line.
Cavs Reportedly Pull Out Of Donovan Mitchell Talks
The Cavaliers have “removed themselves” from the Donovan Mitchell trade talks with the Jazz, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Begley doesn’t provide any further details on the Cavs’ decision, but his update suggests that Cleveland wasn’t comfortable meeting Utah’s high asking price for Mitchell.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 identified the Cavaliers earlier this week as a team with interest in Mitchell, and Begley subsequently reported that Cleveland had “touched base” with Utah about the three-time All-Star guard.
Despite those reports, the Cavs always seemed like a long shot to acquire Mitchell, given that they were unlikely to part with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen and had already traded away one of their future first-round picks.
[RELATED: Knicks, Nets, Heat Are Donovan Mitchell’s Preferred Destinations If He’s Traded]
The Wizards and Hornets are among the other teams that have been mentioned as Mitchell suitors. However, as Begley observes, the Knicks have looked throughout the process like the frontrunners for the 25-year-old, assuming he’s moved at all.
New York could offer RJ Barrett as a centerpiece or could build a package using a series of first-round picks. The Knicks have all their own future first-round selections and have acquired four extra protected first-rounders from other teams.
While the Knicks have the ability to make a strong offer for Mitchell, a Thursday report suggested the two teams aren’t close to a deal and stated that the Jazz are willing to hang onto their star guard rather than accept “90 cents on the dollar” for him.