Sachin Gupta Named Timberwolves’ Interim Head Of Basketball Ops
4:57pm: Gupta “will assume basketball operations oversight” while retaining his current title as executive VP, the team’s PR department tweets.
3:08pm: After parting ways with Gersson Rosas, the Timberwolves will make executive VP Sachin Gupta their new head of basketball operations, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, confirming Gupta’s promotion, tweets that the veteran executive will be the team’s head of basketball operations on an interim basis. The Wolves intend to conduct a more extensive search to identify a permanent replacement for Rosas, according to Wojnarowski.
Gupta, a veteran NBA executive who is perhaps best known for inventing ESPN’s trade machine, joined Minnesota’s front office in 2019 after serving as an assistant general manager in Detroit.
Before his stint with the Pistons, Gupta was a special advisor to then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who first hired him way back in 2006. Between two separate stints in Houston, Gupta also spent several years with the Sixers, working as the VP of basketball operations under Sam Hinkie.
Gupta has been Rosas’ top lieutenant in Minnesota the last two years and received serious consideration for the top front office job in Sacramento in 2020. It briefly looked like the Kings would hire Gupta, but they ultimately chose Monte McNair, resulting in Gupta sticking with the Wolves.
In the wake of Rosas’ dismissal, Gupta will be tasked with leading a Timberwolves squad that has made the postseason just once in the last 17 seasons and appears caught off guard by the front office shakeup. According to Ramona Shelburne and Zach Lowe of ESPN (Twitter link), today’s news surprised several people in the organization, including players, since Rosas was still holding meetings and was in the gym this morning.
Given how highly regarded Gupta is around the NBA, he’ll likely receive consideration to hang onto the permanent job once the Wolves formally launch their search.
Jazz Sign Justin James To Two-Way Contract
The Jazz have filled their open two-way slot by signing free agent swingman Justin James to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
James, 24, spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest.
James’ contract with the Kings covered the 2021/22 season, but his salary for the coming year wasn’t guaranteed, giving the team the opportunity to waive him last month without being on the hook for any dead money.
In Utah, James will occupy the Jazz’s second two-way slot alongside Trent Forrest. With James under contract, the team is now carrying 18 players, including 13 on guaranteed deals and Miye Oni on a non-guaranteed contract. James, Forrest, and Exhibit 10 recipients MaCio Teague and Derrick Alston round out the current group. The Jazz have room for two more camp invitees if they so choose.
Wolves Part Ways With President Of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas
The Timberwolves are parting ways with president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, sources tell Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the news, issuing the following statement:
“Today, the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of.”
Rosas had only run the Timberwolves’ basketball operations department for two years, having been hired by the franchise in May of 2019 after a lengthy stint in the Rockets’ front office. He overhauled the roster after taking the reins — Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie are the only two holdover players from the previous regime.
While he has certainly been active, Rosas hasn’t necessarily taken the Timberwolves any closer to legitimate contention in the last two years. His major moves – including trading up for Jarrett Culver in the 2019 draft and sending Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick to Golden State for D’Angelo Russell – have been a mixed bag, at best. The club had a record of just 42-94 (.309) during Rosas’ tenure and isn’t viewed by professional oddsmakers as a probable playoff team for 2021/22.
Despite some questionable personnel decisions, the timing of Rosas’ dismissal is still surprising. Typically, a team replacing its head of basketball operations will do so at the end of the season, before the draft and free agency take place. The Wolves are making a change less than a week before training camp begins, after Rosas completed many of the team’s offseason roster moves – including trading for Patrick Beverley and re-signing Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin – in the last few weeks.
A tweet from star big man Karl-Anthony Towns likely summed up what many Wolves fans are feeling. Towns’ message simply reads, “Wtf…”
Of course, it’s worth noting that the Wolves are in the midst of an ownership change, with Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore buying the franchise from longtime owner Glen Taylor. New ownership groups often prefer to make their own front office hires rather than sticking with the incumbent executives.
However, Rodriguez and Lore don’t have majority control of the organization yet, having agreed to a succession plan that won’t see them fully take over until 2023. They’ll have a voice in major decisions over the next two years, but the statement announcing Rosas’ dismissal today was attributed to Taylor.
We should get more details soon on why the Wolves would make such a major change now and what their plan is to replace Rosas. For the time being, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggests (via Twitter) that Sixers GM Elton Brand is a name worth watching, since Rodriguez and Lore are believed to be high on Brand.
Speaking of Philadelphia, we’ll also be keeping a close eye on how this move affects Minnesota’s rumored pursuit in Ben Simmons. The Wolves have been viewed for much of the offseason as one of the teams most interested in Simmons — it’s unclear how Rosas’ departure may impact the club’s level of interest in the 76ers star.
Doc Rivers Says Sixers Want Ben Simmons Back
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers appeared on a pair of ESPN shows on Wednesday to address the Ben Simmons situation, expressing on both ‘Keyshawn, JWill, and Max’ and ‘First Take’ that he wants to see the 25-year-old return to Philadelphia for the coming season.
Simmons is reportedly adamantly opposed to the idea of reporting to training camp or playing another game for the 76ers, but Rivers said in his first ESPN appearance on Monday morning that he hopes he and the team can “change that thought.” He later explicitly stated during his First Take appearance that he’d “love” to see Simmons returns to the club, adding that the team hired a shooting coach to help him improve that aspect of his game.
“There’s been so many times this has happened (in sports) that hasn’t been reported…and the guy comes back,” Rivers said, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. “So listen, we’re going to go through it. We’re gonna always do what’s best for the team, but I can tell you up front, we would love to get Ben back, and if we can, we’re gonna try to do that. Ben has a long contract, so it’s in our hands and we want him back.”
Rivers confirmed reports that Simmons told team leaders – including Rivers, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, and club owner Josh Harris – in a meeting last month that he wanted to be traded. According to Rivers, it was a “good conversation” and Simmons provided reasons why he didn’t want to return, but the Sixers “obviously didn’t agree” with his arguments.
One of the most interesting aspect of Rivers’ media appearances today was his insistence that his comments about Simmons following Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals were misrepresented by the media. Asked at that time whether he believed Simmons could be the point guard for a championship team, Rivers replied, “I don’t know that question or the answer to that right now. You know, so I don’t know the answer to that.” Today, he attempted to reframe that response.
“My answer was, ‘I’m not answering any of that stuff right now, guys, I don’t even know how to answer that,'” Rivers told Stephen A. Smith on First Take. “… I was basically just saying, ‘I’m not answering that crap, those questions.’ It was being portrayed that I was out there saying, ‘I don’t think we can win with Ben,’ and I do. I told Ben that the next day. What really disappointed me was the next day I went on and said, ‘Guys, y’all knew exactly what I was talking about,’ and no one heard it. They just kept running their narrative.”
While Rivers insisted today on ESPN that Simmons and agent Rich Paul know what he meant, a report earlier this month suggested that Simmons’ camp wasn’t thrilled with Rivers’ comments, so it’s unclear if everyone is on the same page.
Assuming Rivers’ efforts to get Simmons to camp are unsuccessful, this situation will start to get especially interesting next week, when players are scheduled to report to training camps. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains in an Instagram video, the 76ers would likely be comfortable assessing Simmons a series of small fines if he misses media day (on Monday) and the team’s first few practices. After that though, the financial decisions become more complicated.
Simmons is owed 25% of his $33MM salary for 2021/22 on October 1, and Marks suggests that withholding that payment would be an option for the Sixers if they don’t expect to mend fences with Simmons and are willing to enter an arbitration battle. Suspending Simmons would be another option — in that scenario, he’d lose 1/145th of his salary (about $228K) per game for the first 20 games he misses, then 1/110th of his salary per game after that.
Warriors’ Owner Suggests Trade For Simmons Unlikely
Multiple reports this offseason have suggested that Sixers star Ben Simmons would like to be traded to a West Coast team, but it doesn’t sound as if the Warriors are looking to pull the trigger on a deal for the three-time All-Star, as Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle writes.
Simmons spoke to Warriors owner Joe Lacob about the possibility of trading for Simmons, and while Lacob was careful not to mention the 25-year-old by name in an effort to avoid a tampering fine, there was no doubt about which player he was referring to when he discussed a certain “Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Philadelphia.” Lacob said Golden State will always explore avenues to upgrade the roster, but strongly hinted that a trade for Simmons is unlikely.
“In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing. He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know,” Lacob said. “He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond (Green). Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the play-making. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”
The Warriors were viewed as a top candidate to make a major trade earlier in the offseason, when they could dangle two 2021 lottery picks in advance of this year’s draft. Once they used those two picks to select Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, a blockbuster deal became less likely for the Dubs, who appear focused on developing their rookies and young center James Wiseman rather than packaging them for a star.
“I like our team,” general manager Bob Myers said, per Simmons. “And I envision that the team we have will be the team that heads into camp and will be the team that starts the season.”
If Golden State isn’t seriously in the running for Simmons, who remains adamant about holding out and forcing a deal, it will take one potential trade partner off the table for the Sixers. However, a number of other suitors have reportedly discussed Simmons with Philadelphia this offseason, including the Timberwolves, Raptors, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Kings, among others.
Hawks Sign Jahlil Okafor To Non-Guaranteed Contract
SEPTEMBER 22: The deal became official on Tuesday, per RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 16: Former No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor is signing with the Hawks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via twitter). The contract will be non-guaranteed.
In a follow-up tweet, Hawks beat reporter Chris Kirschner of The Athletic notes that Okafor and recently-signed Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who is also on a non-guaranteed deal, are the most likely candidates to claim the 15th and final spot on the team’s regular season roster.
The team currently has 14 players on guaranteed contracts and 19 players signed to its training camp roster, so Okafor will be their 20th man on the roster, with no corresponding moves necessary to add him.
It’s worth noting that the Hawks could have claimed Okafor off waivers when he was released by the Nets last week, but doing so would have meant taking on a guaranteed minimum contract for the upcoming season. Waiting until he cleared waivers gave them the opportunity to sign him to a non-guaranteed deal, granting the team more flexibility with their roster.
Okafor has bounced around the league in recent years and struggled to break Detroit’s big man rotation last season before being traded to Brooklyn in the offseason. However, he does hold career averages of 10.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in just 19.5 MPG, so he’s capable of packing an offensive punch when given the opportunity.
Quinn Cook Signs Non-Guaranteed Contract With Blazers
SEPTEMBER 22: Cook officially signed his contract with Portland on Tuesday, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 21: Two-time NBA champion Quinn Cook is signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Trail Blazers, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (twitter link).
Cook struggled to find a permanent home last season, playing in 16 games with the Lakers before being waived in February, then playing seven games with the Cavs on a couple of 10-day contracts.
It was reported yesterday that the Warriors were planning on working out Cook this week, but it appears he’ll no longer be an option for Golden State.
Known for his strong locker-room presence and shooting ability, the Washington, D.C. native holds a career slash line of .461/.408/.795 in 14.1 MPG.
Once they officially finalize their agreement with Cook, the Blazers will have 18 players on their training camp roster, with two spots remaining, including an open two-way contract.
Raptors Sign Reggie Perry
The Raptors have signed second-year forward Reggie Perry, per a team press release.
Financial details of the move were not disclosed, but Blake Murphy (formerly of The Athletic) tweets that it will be an Exhibit 10 contract for training camp. Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted into standard or two-way deals and give players like Perry the opportunity to earn bonuses worth up to $50K if they end up joining the club’s G League affiliate after being cut, which seems pretty likely in this case, as Murphy notes.
Both of the Raptors’ two-way contract slots are currently filled, so they would have to waive one of those players in order to convert Perry to a two-way contract. The signing of Perry means that the team’s 20-man training camp roster is now full.
The 57th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Perry played sparingly for the Nets as a rookie last season, seeing action in 26 games and posting averages of 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in just 8.1 MPG.
He did post strong numbers for their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 28.8 MPG across 15 games. The team was reportedly high on the former SEC co-player of the year, and he definitely has a chance to make it back to the NBA at some point.
Ben Simmons Adamant About Not Attending Camp, Not Playing For Sixers
While the Sixers have tried to encourage Ben Simmons to show up for training camp next week, the three-time All-Star hasn’t budged from his stance, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski, Simmons won’t report for camp and intends not to play another game for Philadelphia. He hasn’t spoken to the team at all since August, when he conveyed his plan not to attend training camp, Wojnarowski adds.
As Wojnarowski explains, Simmons is aware of the possible penalties he could face as a result of not attending camp, including fines and a suspension. However, he appears prepared to play hardball with the team, with the regular season just four weeks away.
Despite Simmons’ strong stance, his leverage may be somewhat limited. He still has four years and $147MM left on his contract and Philadelphia probably has a playoff-caliber roster even without him on the court, which means the Sixers can afford to be relatively patient in finding a deal they like. If Simmons doesn’t report, the team could recoup much of his salary via fines.
Sources told Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com on Monday that the 76ers were expecting “some sort of absence” from Simmons to open the preseason. However, Neubeck also says that most people believe the 25-year-old will eventually show up, given the unprecedented nature of a lengthy holdout in the modern NBA.
Philadelphia’s asking price for Simmons was extremely high throughout the offseason, given his age, his résumé, and the fact that he’s under contract for four more years. That price may come down a little now, but the Sixers appear unwilling to accept 50 cents on the dollar for a player like Simmons, who is limited by his lack of a jump shot but is still one of the league’s best play-makers and defenders.
As Neubeck writes, the 76ers could probably get a deal done today if they were willing to accept a package heavy on young players and draft picks, but they remain focused on a return that won’t compromise their ability to contend for a title in 2022.
“There are a few deals you could say, we do this, and we’ll gamble that sometime later, we’ll take draft picks and turn it back into having (a title) chance,” one team source told Neubeck. “But why do that? … There’s no reason to go get draft picks right now because you could just do it all at once. Why take the risk that you do that and you can’t flip back out of it? It makes no sense with Joel (Embiid) in his prime.”
J.J. Redick Announces Retirement
Longtime NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick has announced his retirement from the league, confirming the news during the latest episode of his podcast, The Old Man and the Three (video link).
“The last 30 years of basketball have been beyond my wildest dreams,” Redick said in a prepared statement. “I never could have imagined that I would have played basketball for this long. After years of youth leagues, AAU, high school basketball, four years at Duke, and 15 years in the NBA, I’m retiring from the game that I love so much.”
Redick, 37, entered the league in 2006 as the 11th overall pick out of Duke. He spent the next 15 seasons appearing in a total of 940 regular season games for the Magic, Bucks, Clippers, Sixers, Pelicans, and Mavericks, averaging 12.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .447/.415/.892 shooting line in 25.5 minutes per contest. He also appeared in 110 postseason games, making it to the NBA Finals once with Orlando in 2009.
Redick is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in NBA history, having knocked down a total of 1,950 shots from beyond the arc. That puts him 15th on the league’s all-time list.
Redick’s final season in the NBA was marred by a heel injury, as he was limited to a total of 44 games for New Orleans and Dallas in 2020/21. In today’s announcement, he addressed his underwhelming last year
“Going into last season, I wanted it to be my last year, but wasn’t sure how the season would play out,” Redick explained. “It was difficult for a number of reasons — being injured, being away from my family, COVID protocols, and really, truly, not playing up my standards. I would like to describe last season as a seven-month exercise in coming face-to-face with my own athletic mortality, and it was scary and confusing.
“I wanted to give myself some time to reflect and figure out if I wanted to keep playing. It’s one of the reasons that I told teams that called during free agency that I would decide later on. I didn’t want to commit to anything until I was sure. I have some clarity now, and I know it’s time. It’s time for me to be a dad; it’s time for me to reflect, pause; it’s time for me to get ready for the next phase of my life.”
Redick stated last month that he didn’t plan to join an NBA team for training camp, but was still leaning toward signing later in the season and pursuing his first championship. As such, it sounds as if his decision to retire wasn’t finalized until the last few weeks.
It’s unclear whether Redick will have any interest in pursuing a coaching or front office role during the next phase of his career. Given the success of his Old Man and the Three podcast, a position in the media may be more up his alley.