Zach Collins Suffers Another Injury Setback
Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins has suffered another health setback, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that Collins re-fractured his foot.
Collins missed the entire 2020/21 season after undergoing a pair of surgeries on his left ankle. He originally injured the ankle and went under the knife during the NBA’s bubble restart last summer, then underwent revision surgery in December to repair a left medial malleolus stress fracture.
Although Charania’s report doesn’t specify which foot Collins injured, his use of “re-fracture” suggests it’s once again that left foot.
It’s a brutal turn of events for Collins, a former 10th overall pick who is eligible for restricted free agency this offseason. Since entering Portland’s starting lineup on a full-time basis at the start of the ’19/20 season, the 23-year-old has only been able to play in 11 games, having missed most of last year due to shoulder surgery.
In 154 career regular season games (17.5 MPG), Collins has averaged 5.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .444/.324/.722 shooting.
Portland has always been high on the former Gonzaga standout, having traded the 15th and 20th overall picks in the 2017 draft to move up to No. 10 to get him. However, given his history of injuries, it now seems unlikely that the fourth-year forward/center will even receive a qualifying offer this summer. If he doesn’t get that QO (worth about $7MM), he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
Kevon Looney Opting In For 2021/22 Season
Warriors big man Kevon Looney is picking up his $5.1MM option for next season, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 25-year-old averaged 4.1 points and 5.3 rebounds this season as a part-time starter. He split time in the starting lineup with rookie center James Wiseman and took over the job after Wiseman was injured in April.
Looney has spent six years with Golden State after being taken with the 30th pick in the 2015 draft. He’s a 56.6% shooter from the floor in his career and played significant minutes on the Warriors teams that reached the NBA Finals for five straight seasons.
Looney’s player option was the only one facing the team for 2021/22.
Ivica Zubac To Miss Game 5 With MCL Sprain
Clippers center Ivica Zubac, who had started for the club in its last three games, will miss tonight’s contest against the Suns with a sprained right MCL, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
According to Youngmisuk, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters that reserve big man DeMarcus Cousins will be a part of the team’s rotation for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Lue noted that Cousins’s offense will be valuable against Phoenix. The four-time All-Star has played a total of 17 minutes and 14 seconds across the first four games of the series.
Since being inserted into the Clippers’ starting lineup, Zubac had averaged 14.0 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 1.0 BPG while matched up against ascendant Suns center Deandre Ayton.
The absence of Zubac will especially be felt as the team strives to defend the pick-and-roll, writes Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.
Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register noted earlier this afternoon that Zubac’s status ahead of the game was in doubt after he suffered the MCL sprain during Game 4 of the series on Saturday.
Zubac joins All-NBA wing Kawhi Leonard on the sidelines for L.A. The Clippers announced Sunday that Leonard would sit for tonight’s contest in Phoenix. Game 5 represents a potential closeout for the series, as the Suns lead the Clippers 3-1.
Mavs Hire Jason Kidd As Coach, Nico Harrison As GM
JUNE 28, 3:38pm: The Mavericks have issued a pair of press releases officially announcing Kidd as the team’s new head coach and Harrison as the new general manager.
JUNE 25, 12:29pm: The Mavericks have agreed to terms on contracts with Kidd and Harrison, reports MacMahon (Twitter link). Kidd will be Dallas’ new head coach, while Harrison will be the general manager and run the team’s basketball operations department.
Kidd will sign a four-year deal, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
JUNE 25, 5:53am: The Mavericks are in the process of finalizing a deal with Lakers assistant Jason Kidd that will make him the new head coach in Dallas, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon.
Sources tell ESPN that Kidd has begun the “early stages” of assembling a coaching staff in preparation for taking the Mavs’ job.
Reports on Thursday indicated that Kidd had emerged as the frontrunner for the Mavs’ coaching vacancy and had begun contract negotiations with the team as it also prepared to fill an opening in its front office.
Longtime Nike executive Nico Harrison, who has strong connections with players throughout the NBA – including Luka Doncic – as a result of his two decades at Nike, is expected to be a hired to a top basketball operations position and the hope is that current VP of basketball operations Michael Finley will remain with the team and work alongside him, per Wojnarowski and MacMahon. The plan is for the duo to take over responsibilities previously held by Donnie Nelson, who left the Mavs earlier this month.
Even before officially joining the franchise, Harrison – who is also close to Kidd – has had in-depth conversations with team owner Mark Cuban about head coaching candidates, according to ESPN. While assistant coach Jamahl Mosley and others were considered, those discussions led to Cuban and Harrison identifying Kidd as their top target. Finley and special advisor Dirk Nowitzki have also lobbied for their former teammate.
Kidd has two stints as a head coach under his belt, having led the Nets for a single season in 2013/14, then the Bucks from 2014-18. He had a combined regular season record of 183-190 (.491) during his four-and-a-half years as a head coach in Brooklyn and Milwaukee, with a playoff mark of 9-15 (.375), including a lone series win in 2014.
As a player, Kidd was a member of the Mavericks from 1994-96 and again from 2008-12, helping lead the organization to a championship in 2011. Rick Carlisle, who coached Kidd during the point guard’s second stint in Dallas, gave him an unsolicited endorsement for the job on Thursday, telling MacMahon that he believed it would be a great situation for both Kidd and Doncic.
Kidd’s exit from the Mavs in free agency in 2012 was a little messy – he changed his mind and went to New York after originally planning to re-sign in Dallas – his relationship with Cuban and the team has since been smoothed over, Woj and MacMahon say.
Assuming there are no last-minute snags in negotiations between Kidd and the Mavericks, Dallas will become the third team to hire a new head coach this offseason, joining the Pacers (Carlisle) and the Celtics (Ime Udoka). Searches are ongoing for the Magic, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Wizards. Those teams will have to remove Kidd from their list of candidates if he was under consideration — we know he at least interviewed with Orlando.
Timberwolves Reportedly Have Trade Interest In Ben Simmons
The Sixers, who are weighing what changes to make to their roster this offseason, continue to insist they’re committed Ben Simmons for the long term. However, if the 76ers seriously explore a potential Simmons trade this offseason, the Timberwolves are among the teams expected to show interest, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North said on The Scoop (audio link).
“I texted with somebody that knows Ben Simmons incredibly well (and) has working knowledge of all things NBA,” Wolfson said. “My text the other day said, ‘How badly do the Wolves want to trade for Ben Simmons?’ This individual sent me a text back, it was one word: ‘Badly.’
“Make no mistake, the Wolves have trade interest in Ben Simmons,” Wolfson continued. “… (President of basketball operations) Gersson Rosas is going to show – or already has, going back many months – interest in Ben Simmons.”
As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports writes, the Wolves probably aren’t parting with Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Edwards in any deal this offseason. That would leave D’Angelo Russell as the likely centerpiece in any offer for Simmons. Alternatively, Minnesota could package Malik Beasley and Ricky Rubio in order to put together enough salary to match Simmons’ $33MM+ cap hit.
However, even if the Wolves were to add draft picks to their offers, it’s unclear how appealing those offers would be to Daryl Morey and the Sixers. Should the 76ers move their three-time All-Star, they’d want to make a deal that would improve the team’s chances of competing for a title in 2022, rather than one heavy on draft picks. Morey would likely aim higher than a package headed by Russell or Beasley/Rubio.
Still, it’s an interesting idea, particularly given the Wolves’ quest to add a power forward this summer. While Simmons has been considered a point guard for the majority of his NBA career, the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up is more than capable of guarding threes and fours, which would make him an intriguing fit in Minnesota.
Trae Young Questionable For Game 4 Due To Bone Bruise
1:48pm: After undergoing an MRI, Young has been diagnosed with a bone bruise to his right foot, the Hawks announced today in a press release. He’ll be listed as questionable for Game 4 on Tuesday, per the team.
8:19am: Hawks star Trae Young said after Sunday’s game that he will undergo an MRI on his injured right ankle on Monday, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.
Young accidentally stepped on referee Sean Wright’s foot late in the third quarter, turning his ankle in the process. The third-year guard left the game and was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. Although he was able to return to action in the fourth quarter, Young admitted to reporters after the game that the injury was bothering him.
“It’s sore right now,” he said, per Bontemps. “… It’s hurting a little bit and it’s sore. I got some treatment on it. I’m going to go get some more in the morning. That’s all I can do right now, is to get treatment.”
Young wasn’t walking with a noticeable limp after the game and said he’ll “hopefully” be good to go for Game 4 on Tuesday, according to Bontemps.
Still, even if Young is unable to play, it’s possible the injury will slow him down a little, affecting his usual explosiveness. Already in this postseason, we’ve seen a variety of leg injuries limit the effectiveness of guards like James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Mike Conley. It would be unfortunate if Young is noticeably bothered by the injury going forward, since the upstart Hawks have been giving the Bucks all they can handle in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After splitting the first two games in Milwaukee, Atlanta had a fourth-quarter lead on Sunday, but wasn’t able to hold onto that lead down the stretch. The Bucks now lead the series by a 2-1 margin.
Rosters Announced For Olympic Qualifying Tournaments
Four qualifying tournaments to determine the final four teams in the men’s basketball pool at the Tokyo Olympics are set to tip off on Tuesday. In advance of the Olympic qualifiers, the 24 teams involved have officially set their 12-man rosters, according to a press release from FIBA.
More than two dozen current NBA players are participating in the tournament, and 11 of the 24 teams competing for Olympic spots have at least one current NBA players on their respective rosters. Of those clubs, Team Canada has the biggest contingent of NBA players — eight of the 12 players on Nick Nurse‘s squad finished the season on an NBA roster. Turkey is next with four NBA players.
The four qualifying tournaments will take place in Serbia, Lithuania, Croatia, and Canada. Only the winner of each six-team group will advance to Tokyo. Those four winners will join Japan, Nigeria, Argentina, Iran, France, Spain, Australia, and the U.S. in the 12-team Olympic tournament.
The teams that move onto the Olympics may tweak their rosters for Tokyo, depending on the availability of certain players. For instance, if Greece were to win its qualifying tournament, perhaps Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo – who remains active in the playoffs for now – would make an effort to join the team in Tokyo next month.
Here are the NBA players on the OQT rosters:
Belgrade, Serbia
- Italy: Nico Mannion (Warriors), Nicolo Melli (Mavericks/RFA)
- Serbia: Nemanja Bjelica (Heat/UFA), Boban Marjanovic (Mavericks/UFA)
- Dominican Republic, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal: None
Kaunas, Lithuania
- Lithuania: Domantas Sabonis (Pacers), Jonas Valanciunas (Grizzlies)
- Slovenia: Vlatko Cancar (Nuggets), Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Angola, Korea, Poland, Venezuela: None
Split, Croatia
- Brazil: Anderson Varejao (Cavaliers/UFA)
- Croatia: Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz)
- Germany: Isaac Bonga (Wizards/RFA), Moritz Wagner (Magic/UFA)
- Mexico, Russia, Tunisia: None
Victoria, Canada
- Canada: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Pelicans), RJ Barrett (Knicks), Luguentz Dort (Thunder), Cory Joseph (Pistons), Trey Lyles (Spurs/UFA), Mychal Mulder (Warriors/RFA), Dwight Powell (Mavericks), Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
- Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky (Bulls)
- Greece: Kostas Antetokounmpo (Lakers/RFA)
- Turkey: Cedi Osman (Cavaliers), Ersan Ilyasova (Jazz/UFA), Furkan Korkmaz (Sixers/UFA), Omer Yurtseven (Heat/team option)
- China, Uruguay: None
There are also many former NBA players among the 24 rosters, including Mario Hezonja (Croatia), Milos Teodosic (Serbia), Jan Vesely (Czech Republic), Timofey Mozgov (Russia), and Anthony Bennett (Canada).
To view the full rosters, be sure to visit FIBA’s official site and click through to each team from there.
Celtics Hire Ime Udoka As Head Coach
JUNE 28: Five days after his deal with the Celtics was first reported, Udoka has been officially announced as the team’s new head coach. The organization issued a press release confirming the news.
“I would like to welcome Ime, Nia, Kez, and Massai to the Boston Celtics. Among the many outstanding qualities that Ime brings to the table are his character, humility, and competitiveness. He has a relentless work ethic and a vast array of experiences as a player and coach,” Stevens said in a statement. “He’s a leader that is warm and demanding, and we are so excited that he has chosen to join us in pursuit of Banner 18.”
JUNE 23: New Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has made a decision on his replacement, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Boston is finalizing a deal to hire Nets assistant Ime Udoka as the team’s new head coach.
Udoka, who appeared in over 300 NBA games as a player for the Lakers, Knicks, Blazers, Spurs, and Kings, transitioned into coaching following his retirement in 2012. He spent seven years as an assistant on Gregg Popovich‘s staff in San Antonio before joining the Sixers for the 2019/20 season. He was hired by the Nets last fall and focused on Brooklyn’s defense as one of the top assistants on Steve Nash‘s staff.
Udoka has interviewed for several open head coaching positions in recent years, having been linked to the Bulls, Pacers, Knicks, and 76ers a year ago and to the Cavaliers in 2019. He was due for a shot at a top job and quickly separated himself from the Celtics’ other candidates during the team’s coaching search, tweets Wojnarowski.
According to Woj, a number of Celtics players who participated in the 2019 World Cup for Team USA were impressed by Udoka, who was an assistant on the U.S. staff. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart all played on that team.
The Celtics’ head coaching job opened up three weeks ago when Danny Ainge stepped down from his position as the organization’s president of basketball operations and Stevens was moved into that role. Stevens, who led the coaching search, has had a busy first month on the job — he also completed the first trade of the NBA offseason, sending Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City last week.
The Celtics are the first team to complete a head coaching search this offseason, ahead of the Mavericks, Pacers, Pelicans, Magic, Blazers, and Wizards.
Blazers, Chauncey Billups Agree To Five-Year Deal
10:35pm: The Blazers have issued a press release confirming they’re hiring Billups as their new head coach.
“Chauncey is a proven leader with an elite basketball IQ that has won everywhere he has been,” Olshey said in a statement. “He is prepared for the challenge of developing the championship habits and strategic approach we need to achieve the expectations and goals for our franchise.”
9:51pm: The Trail Blazers and Chauncey Billups have reached an agreement that will make the former NBA point guard the new head coach in Portland, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The team parted ways with former head coach Terry Stotts earlier in June.
It’ll be a five-year deal for Billups. The contract features four guaranteed seasons and a team option on the fifth year, per Wojnarowski, who adds that the new head coach will be officially introduced on Tuesday.
Blazers owner Jody Allen and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey met with finalists Billups, Mike D’Antoni, and Becky Hammon in Seattle this week. After their meeting with Billups, the Blazers’ franchise leaders were convinced he was the right candidate for the job, sources tell ESPN.
Portland is moving forward with Billups despite facing some criticism over the choice due to a 1997 sexual assault case involving the former All-Star. No criminal charges were brought against Billups, who was a rookie at the time, and the case was ultimately settled in civil court.
The Blazers looked into that incident before formally offering the job to Billups on Friday, and he encouraged the examination, says Wojnarowski. Billups’ answers in conversations with team officials aligned with findings from an independent investigation, and the Blazers didn’t learn anything they felt disqualified Billups from being offered the position, Woj adds.
Billups has no previous head coaching experience, but was considered a future head coach or GM during his days as a player based on his leadership and his heady approach to the game. Since retiring in 2014, he has worked as a broadcaster and – in 2020/21 – as an assistant coach on Tyronn Lue‘s Clippers staff.
The Blazers intend to be aggressive about filling out Billups’ staff with experienced coaches to help ensure a smooth transition, says Wojnarowski.
Billups will be tasked with elevating a team that has stalled out in the postseason in recent years. He’ll also play a major role in making sure franchise player Damian Lillard remains happy in Portland. A report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports on Sunday suggested that the Blazers’ roster shortcomings and the backlash to the coaching search have created some uncertainty about Lillard’s commitment to the organization.
However, Lillard has long expressed his desire to remain in Portland long-term and he remains under contract for four more years. He also publicly endorsed Billups early in the club’s coaching search. While it’s still possible he could ask for a trade, the Blazers will do all they can to address Lillard’s potential discontent.
The Celtics (Ime Udoka), Pacers (Rick Carlisle), Mavericks (Jason Kidd), and Blazers have now completed coaching searches this month. The Wizards, Magic, and Pelicans remain on the lookout for new head coaches.
Jazz EVP Lindsey Transitioning To Advisory Role; Zanik To Run Basketball Ops
Jazz executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey is transitioning to an advisory role with the franchise, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Although Lindsey has been the head of basketball operations in Utah in recent years, general manager Justin Zanik has run day-to-day operations in the front office since 2019 and he’ll continue to do so going forward, sources tell ESPN. Head coach Quin Snyder will also continue to have a “significant organizational voice,” says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
New Jazz owner Ryan Smith is expected to take the opportunity to evaluate the basketball operations department to “see where it can be strengthened,” Woj adds (via Twitter). Tony Jones of The Athletic (all Twitter links) also suggests that more front office changes are on the way, with former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge among those who could be in the mix to join the Jazz. Ainge was linked to Utah immediately after word broke that he was stepping down from his job in Boston.
However, Wojnarowski stresses that Smith and Zanik have worked well together, and Jones says the plan is for Zanik to head up the basketball operations department going forward. If Ainge comes aboard, it won’t be to lead the front office, according to Jones. It’s unclear if Ainge would be interested in a role where he’s not making the final decisions.
Lindsey, confirming his move to an advisory position, shared a statement with Wojnarowski:
“In recent years, I have had conversations with the Miller family and then Ryan Smith when he came on board about moving into an advisory role. This is an appropriate time to make the transition with the organization on such solid footing. … I look forward to making contributions to the Jazz in a different way, while enjoying more time with my wife Becky and our four children.”