Kevin Love Won’t Play In Olympics
Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has decided to withdraw from Team USA and won’t travel to Japan for the Olympics, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“I am incredibly disappointed to not be heading to Tokyo with Team USA, but you need to be at absolute peak performance to compete at the Olympic level and I am just not there yet,” Love said in a statement released by his agent, Jeff Schwartz (Twitter link).
Love’s concerns about his physical condition stem from a right calf injury that caused him to miss much of this past season. The 32-year-old played in just 25 of the Cavs’ 72 games.
He sat out Monday’s loss to Australia, but Team USA coach Gregg Popovich said afterward that it wasn’t because of injury, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link). He notes that Love and the Cavaliers were hoping the Olympics experience would help him return to form next season.
Love didn’t see much playing time in the other two exhibition games and “struggled mightily” during training camp, Vardon adds (Twitter link).
Love’s announcement adds to the last-minute chaos for the U.S. team, which lost Bradley Beal on Thursday and saw Jerami Grant placed into health and safety protocols. Team USA officials were already working to fill one roster opening and now will have to address another one.
Kostas Antetokounmpo Signs With French Team
JULY 16: Antetokounmpo has signed a two-year deal with Asvel in France, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
JULY 2: Lakers forward Kostas Antetokounmpo is nearing a five-year contract with Olympiacos in his native Greece, according to Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. The news was first reported by FOS Online, which adds that Antetokounmpo has agreed to accept the offer from Olympiacos.
At 23, Kostas is the youngest of the three Antetokounmpo brothers in the NBA. He appeared in 15 games for L.A. this season on a two-way contract and averaged just 3.7 minutes per night, scoring 0.8 points and collecting 1.3 rebounds. This was his second season with the Lakers after being claimed off waivers from the Mavericks in 2019.
Antetokounmpo was taken by the Sixers with the final pick in the 2018 draft and was traded to Dallas on draft night. He signed a two-way contract with the Mavs, but played in just two NBA games before being released.
He is currently representing Greece in this week’s Olympic qualifying tournaments.
Team USA Has Exhibition Canceled, Searches For Bradley Beal Replacement
COVID-19 postponed the Olympics last year and is creating havoc in the men’s basketball competition with the Tokyo games just a week away. After Team USA lost Bradley Beal and had Jerami Grant placed under health and safety protocols on Thursday, the day ended with an announcement that today’s exhibition game between the U.S. and Australia has been canceled, tweets Marc Stein.
A press release cited “an abundance of caution” and stated that today’s women’s game between the two nations will go on as planned. Both American teams are slated to wrap up their exhibition schedules Sunday, with the men facing Spain and the women taking on Nigeria.
The Australian men’s team is operating under even stricter protocols than the U.S., which may have contributed to the cancellation, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Windhorst notes that players have limitations while in Las Vegas for the exhibitions, but they can freely move around their hotels and visit casinos. Because players’ family and friends won’t be allowed to attend the games in Tokyo, USA Basketball welcomed them to Vegas and has them in testing protocols.
“It’s costing people opportunities of a lifetime,” Draymond Green said Thursday after the announcement that Beal won’t be able to play in the Olympics. “We all came in hoping we wouldn’t be affected by it. It’s just not the way it’s gone.”
Officials from USA Basketball held meetings Thursday to decide on a replacement on Beal. Players from the 57-man roster that was announced in March will receive consideration, Windhorst adds, and coach Gregg Popovich said conditioning could be a factor with most NBA players well into the offseason.
“We have to make sure somebody is in shape because we don’t have time once we get there with just a couple of practices,” Popovich said. “It’s going to take a certain individual that we think can pick it all up quickly.”
Among the names that have been mentioned as possible replacements for Beal are Knicks forward Julius Randle, Sixers forward Tobias Harris, and Rockets big man Christian Wood.
Blazers Won’t Give Zach Collins Qualifying Offer
The Trail Blazers will not extend a $7MM qualifying offer to forward Zach Collins, Jason Quick of The Athletic reports.
That will make Collins an unrestricted free agent next month. The 10th pick in the 2017 draft has only appeared in 11 games the past two seasons due to shoulder, foot and ankle injuries.
Collins learned late last month of a major setback when another fracture was discovered in his left foot. He underwent a second revision surgery to repair a left medial malleolus stress fracture and will require another 4-6 month recovery period.
“Obviously with me being a free agent, it makes it tough,” Collins said. “But I’m less concerned about what type of deal I’m going to get, or how many years it’s going to be, or who I’m going to play for … I’m more focused on this rehab and getting this ankle right.”
Projected to be over the cap, the Blazers couldn’t afford to tie up another chunk of money on a player who will likely miss significant time next season.
Agent Mark Bartelstein is still confident he can land a multi-year contract for his client.
“There’s no question he is going to get a deal; he’s an incredible talent,” Bartelstein said. “NBA teams are looking for guys who can protect the rim, switch everything on defense and make 3s. Zach is really a unicorn.”
Collins is still hopeful of remaining with Portland. Bartelstein will hold discussions with Neil Olshey, the team’s president of basketball operations.
“Neil and I talk all the time and we will do what we always do — sit and talk and see if something makes sense,” Bartelstein said. “But they are in a tough spot. They are up against the luxury tax, and there’s a sense of urgency to win now … so there’s a lot to balance. But I know Neil believes deeply in Zach. They know he is going to be good.”
NBA To Hold 2021 Draft In Person At Barclays Center
After the NBA was forced to conduct a virtual draft in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league will be returning to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for its 2021 event.
The NBA confirmed in a press release that the July 29 draft will take place at Barclays Center, with tickets going on sale to the public on Monday, July 19.
In addition to hosting fans at the draft, the NBA will also once again have an in-person Green Room for the event, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, the league is in the process of sending out those Green Room invites.
The league has made Barclays Center its home base for the draft since the building opened nearly a decade ago. This will be the eighth draft held in the Brooklyn arena.
The full 2021 draft order can be found right here.
Team USA Places Grant In COVID-19 Protocols, Working To Replace Beal
1:30pm: Team USA is working to replace Beal on its roster, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’s unclear at this point whether a replacement will be required for Grant as well.
1:14pm: After Team USA guard Bradley Beal entered the coronavirus health and safety protocols in Las Vegas on Wednesday, a second player from the U.S. roster has joined him. According to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link), Jerami Grant has also been placed in the protocols.
Grant hasn’t tested positive for COVID-19, says Charania. That suggests the Pistons forward has entered the protocols for contact tracing reasons, which would result in a shorter isolation period as long as he continues to register negative tests.
However, Team USA is traveling to Tokyo soon, with their first game of the Olympics less than 10 days away. As such, the availability of both Beal and Grant for the Tokyo games remains very much up in the air.
While the hope is that Beal and Grant will be cleared to travel to Japan and play in the Olympics, the U.S. roster would require a pair of substitutes if both players are ultimately deemed unavailable.
In a story for The Athletic, Vardon suggested that Julius Randle might be a logical choice to replace Beal. Players who are part of the U.S. Select Team in Las Vegas – including Keldon Johnson, Saddiq Bey, and Darius Garland – are also viable candidates if USA Basketball is unable to secure a last-minute commitment from a veteran.
With the Suns and Bucks looking like they might be on track for a seven-game NBA Finals, Team USA was already at risk of being shorthanded to start the Olympics, since the turnaround for Devin Booker, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday would be extremely quick if a Game 7 is required. USA Basketball may have to make decisions soon on Beal and Grant to make sure the roster is at full strength for its first game on July 25.
Wes Unseld Jr. Emerging As Frontrunner For Wizards’ Coaching Job
Nuggets associate head coach Wes Unseld Jr. is emerging as the leader to become the Wizards‘ new head coach, according to Shams Charania and Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Athletic’s report comes on the heels of an ESPN report on Wednesday, which suggested that Unseld and Bucks assistant Darvin Ham were the favorites for the Wizards’ job. That story stated that Bucks assistant Charles Lee also remains in the mix, but it appears Unseld has a leg up on the two Milwaukee coaches.
Unseld, who grew up in Maryland and attended Johns Hopkins from 1994-97, began his coaching career in 2005 in D.C. He spent six years as an assistant on the Wizards’ staff from 2005-11 before moving on to coaching roles with the Warriors (2011-12), Magic (2012-15), and Nuggets (2015-present).
It would certainly make for a good story if the Wizards end up choosing Unseld as Scott Brooks‘ replacement, since his father, Hall-of-Famer Wes Unseld Sr., was a D.C. icon. The elder Unseld, who passed away in 2020, earned five All-Star nods and an MVP award in Baltimore and Washington for the then-Bullets, then coached the team and later held a front office role.
The Pelicans and Wizards are the last two teams still conducting head coaching searches this offseason, though New Orleans appears to be on the verge of hiring Willie Green to fill their vacancy.
Pelicans, Willie Green Expected To Finalize Deal This Week
The Pelicans and Willie Green are expected to finalize a deal this week that will make the Suns assistant the new head coach in New Orleans, reports ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link).
There has been an expectation for several days that the Pelicans – who dismissed Stan Van Gundy after a single season – will hire Green as their head coach. Reports over the weekend said Green was viewed around the NBA as the frontrunner for the position, while a Monday report called him the strong favorite and a Tuesday report stated that New Orleans planned to hire him. The two sides are now nearing completion on their agreement, according to Lopez.
A former NBA shooting guard, Green transitioned into the coaching ranks in 2016, working with the Warriors as an assistant for three seasons before making the move to Phoenix in 2019. He has been on Monty Williams‘ staff for the last two years and reportedly talked to the Wizards and Magic about their head coaching vacancies before zeroing in on the Pelicans’ job.
Green’s current team remains active in the NBA Finals, which is likely slowing down the hiring process a little. Even if he and the Pelicans do complete their deal this week, Green figures to finish out the season with Phoenix. He’s seeking his third championship as an NBA assistant coach.
Bradley Beal Enters Protocols, Olympic Status Uncertain
Team USA and Wizards guard Bradley Beal has entered the health and safety protocols in Las Vegas, placing his participation in the Tokyo Olympics in jeopardy, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
There is nothing definitive about that at this point regarding Beal’s status for Tokyo, Reynolds adds.
It would obviously be a major blow for USA Basketball if the high-scoring All-Star is ruled out of the Olympics. The team has already struggled during exhibition play in Las Vegas, dropping two of its first three games. Beal scored a team-high 17 points in a 108-80 win over Argentina on Tuesday. He has started all three of the squad’s games in Las Vegas.
Team USA’s quest for gold begins in just 11 days.
It’s also uncertain who would be called upon to replace Beal or any other player, if needed. It was suggested after the Spurs’ Keldon Johnson, Cavaliers’ Darius Garland and Pistons’ Saddiq Bey were promoted from the Select Team to join Team USA in exhibition play that they would be considered as potential replacement players.
Marko Simonovic Likely To Sign With Bulls
Draft-and-stash prospect Marko Simonovic cannot officially sign with the Bulls until next month but it appears likely that he’ll make the jump to the NBA next season.
An Instagram post from his agent, Misko Raznatovic, displayed a picture of them sitting beside each other with the words, “One way ticket to Chicago!”
It’s uncertain what type of contract the 6’11” Simonovic will be signing with the club. The Bulls could use cap room or an exception to bring him aboard, depending on how their offseason plays out.
Selected as the No. 44 pick in 2020, the 21-year-old center played in Serbia this year for Mega Basket in the ABA Adriatic League. He averaged 15.7 PPG and 9.1 RPG in 31.6 MPG over 25 games. He shot 47.3% overall and 34.9% on his 3-point attempts.
With Daniel Theis and Cristiano Felicio entering unrestricted free agency and Lauri Markkanen headed to restricted free agency, the Bulls could have some openings in the frontcourt.