Chris Paul To Return For Game 3
JUNE 24: Paul will be available for Game 3, the Suns officially announced today (Twitter link).
JUNE 23: Barring a setback prior to Thursday night, Suns point guard Chris Paul intends to return to action for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in Los Angeles, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
A report late on Tuesday night indicated that the Suns were optimistic that Paul – who has been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols since early last week after testing positive for COVID-19 – would be cleared for Game 3.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 noted earlier today (via Twitter) that Paul would have to go through a process that includes a mini-physical and cardiac screening for myocarditis before he received medical clearance. Haynes’ report suggests CP3 has taken that step. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that the point guard passed a cardio exam on Wednesday morning, which Haynes says was the final step to clear the protocols.
We’ll have to wait for an official update from the Suns to confirm Paul’s availability for Thursday, but for now it sounds like he’s trending toward a return.
While Phoenix is on the verge of getting its All-NBA star back, it remains to be seen when the Clippers’ All-NBA First Team forward, Kawhi Leonard, will return. Leonard has missed the team’s last four games due to a knee sprain.
The Suns are up 2-0 on L.A. in the best-of-seven series.
Jason Kidd Will Be Prime Candidate For Mavs’ Coaching Job
Former Mavericks star and current Lakers assistant Jason Kidd will be a “prime” candidate for Dallas’ open head coaching position, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
As Stein notes, the Mavs are focusing for now on replacing former president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, so the head coaching search isn’t in full swing yet. But once the team’s front office is set, Kidd figures to be high on the list of contenders for the coaching job.
Kidd received an endorsement today from an interesting source: former Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle. Carlisle, who coached Kidd from 2008-12 in Dallas and recently stepped down after 13 years as the club’s head coach, told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he’d love to see Kidd get the opportunity to coach star point guard Luka Doncic.
“My hope is that Jason Kidd will be the next coach of the Mavs because he and Luka have so many things in common as players,” Carlisle said. “I just think that it would be a great situation for Luka, and I think it would be an amazing situation for Jason. I’m the only person on the planet that’s coached both of those guys and that knows about all of their special qualities as basketball players. To me, that just would be a great marriage, but that’s just an opinion.”
Although Kidd had a “somewhat messy” departure from Dallas during his playing days, things have been smoothed over since then, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Townsend suggests that Kidd has two key allies in Mavs owner Mark Cuban and newly-hired special advisor Dirk Nowitzki, which could help bolster his candidacy for the coaching job — assuming he’s interested in it.
Kidd has also been linked to the head coaching vacancies in New Orleans and Orlando. He was initially viewed as a strong candidate for the Portland job, but withdrew from consideration following a public endorsement from Damian Lillard. We’ll have to see if Carlisle’s comments have any impact on his potential pursuit of the Mavs job.
Rich Paul, Sixers Meet To Discuss Ben Simmons’ Future
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and general manager Elton Brand met with agent Rich Paul this week at the pre-draft combine in Chicago to begin discussing potential next steps for Ben Simmons, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski, Paul spoke to the Sixers about whether it would make sense for the two sides to work together to find a trade for Simmons this offseason. However, Simmons’ camp has not made a trade request and discussions about his future are expected to continue in the next several weeks.
Sources tell Wojnarowski that the 76ers are committed to keeping Simmons for the long term. Given the way that the 24-year-old’s stock dipped during the postseason, that likely just means the team doesn’t want to move him for 50 cents on the dollar — I expect Morey and Brand would pull the trigger on a trade if they felt they were getting fair value.
For what it’s worth, Wojnarowski hears from sources that Simmons’ value on the trade market remains “significant,” despite his offensive struggles in the playoffs. Teams have been gauging Philadelphia’s interest in potential trade packages at the combine in Chicago this week, Woj adds.
Head coach Doc Rivers spoke after the Sixers’ season ended about the team’s plans to address Simmons’ offensive struggles and efforts to improve his shot this summer. Simmons and Rivers met this week to discuss that plan, according to Wojnarowski, who says the club is reluctant to seriously consider trading the former No. 1 overall pick without exhausting all options to improve his offense.
[RELATED: Simmons: “There’s A Lot Of Things I Need To Work On”]
Simmons, who was the runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year award and has been an All-Star in each of the last three seasons, still has four years and approximately $147MM left on his contract with Philadelphia.
Kawhi Leonard Ruled Out For Game 3
The Clippers have another 0-2 hole to climb out of, but this time they’ll have to do it without Kawhi Leonard. The star forward has officially been ruled out of Thursday’s Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.
Leonard hasn’t played since hurting his knee nine days ago in Game 5 of L.A.’s series against the Jazz. The Clippers managed to win the final two games of that series without him, but are staring at a deficit again after dropping back-to-back games in Phoenix.
Coach Tyronn Lue said over the weekend that he’s preparing to play the entire conference finals without Leonard, just to avoid the game-to-game uncertainty of whether he’ll be available.
The Clippers are officially calling Leonard’s knee injury a sprain, but few details have been released about the severity. There was concern last week that he might have damaged his ACL, but no one has confirmed whether that happened.
LaVine, Grant Commit To Team USA; Harden Withdraws
Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Pistons forward Jerami Grant have committed to play for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
There were already 11 players who had committed to represent the U.S. in Tokyo, but one of those players – Nets guard James Harden – is withdrawing, Charania reports (via Twitter).
Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press had noted earlier today (via Twitter) that there are still concerns about the hamstring injury that sidelined Harden for part of the second half of the season and several games in the Eastern Semifinals. He’ll focus on getting that hamstring back to 100% this summer.
As a result of the new commitments and Harden’s decision to pull out, the 12-team roster for Team USA now looks like this:
- Guards: Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, LaVine
- Forwards: Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton, Grant
- Bigs: Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, Kevin Love
Booker, Holiday, and Middleton are still alive in the postseason. However, Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo previously said that Booker intends to play in Tokyo no matter how late the Suns’ season goes, and he suggested today that Holiday and Middleton have made similar commitments, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Even assuming those three players all remain committed, it’s possible the 12-man U.S. squad could undergo more tweaks if players suffer injuries or reconsider their summer plans. For now though, we have a pretty good idea of what the group competing for gold in Tokyo will look like. The Olympics are scheduled to begin a month from today.
Alex Caruso Arrested For Marijuana Possession
Lakers guard Alex Caruso, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, was arrested in Texas on Tuesday and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors, according to KJ Hiramoto of Fox 11 Los Angeles.
Caruso, who played his college ball at Texas A&M, tried to board a flight on Tuesday afternoon at Easterwood Airport in College Station, Texas, which is on A&M property, local police told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. In the process of searching Caruso’s bags, the TSA found a herb grinder that contained marijuana.
Caruso, who was arrested by Texas A&M police for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana, was released after posting bond, per ESPN’s report.
Given that marijuana has been decriminalized and/or legalized in many parts of the country, Caruso’s run-in with the law will likely be viewed as a careless mistake rather than as any sort of major transgression that will affect his stock in free agency this summer.
Caruso has been a key part of the Lakers’ rotation over the last four years. In 2020/21, he averaged 6.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 58 games (21.0 MPG), knocking down 40.1% of his three-point attempts and playing tough perimeter defense.
Full 2021 NBA Draft Order
Now that the NBA’s draft lottery results are in, the full 2021 draft order has been set.
We’ll likely see some of these picks change hands on July 29, or in the days leading up to draft night — we’ll be sure to update the list below if and when picks are traded.
Here’s the full 2021 NBA draft order:
First Round:
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Toronto Raptors
- Orlando Magic
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Golden State Warriors (from Timberwolves)
- Orlando Magic (from Bulls)
- Sacramento Kings
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Pelicans)
- Charlotte Hornets
- San Antonio Spurs
- Indiana Pacers
- Golden State Warriors
- Washington Wizards
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Celtics)
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Grizzlies)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Heat)
- New York Knicks
- Atlanta Hawks
- New York Knicks (from Mavericks)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Houston Rockets (from Trail Blazers)
- Houston Rockets (from Bucks)
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
- Brooklyn Nets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets (from Suns)
- Utah Jazz
Second Round:
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Rockets)
- New York Knicks (from Pistons)
- Orlando Magic
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Cavaliers)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Timberwolves)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Raptors via Pistons)
- Chicago Bulls (from Pelicans)
- Sacramento Kings
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Bulls via Pelicans)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Detroit Pistons (from Hornets)
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Wizards)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Pacers)
- Boston Celtics
- Toronto Raptors (from Grizzlies)
- Toronto Raptors (from Warriors)
- Atlanta Hawks (from Heat)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Hawks)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Knicks)
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Trail Blazers via Grizzlies)
- Detroit Pistons (from Lakers)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Mavericks via Pelicans)
- Indiana Pacers (from Bucks)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Nuggets)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Clippers)
- Detroit Pistons (from Nets via Hornets)
- New York Knicks (from Sixers)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Suns)
- Indiana Pacers (from Jazz)
Pistons Win 2021 Draft Lottery; Rockets, Cavs, Raptors In Top Four
With Tuesday night’s lottery results now official, the top 14 slots for the 2021 NBA draft have been set. The lottery order is as follows:
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Toronto Raptors
- Orlando Magic
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Golden State Warriors (from Timberwolves)
- Orlando Magic (from Bulls)
- Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Charlotte Hornets
- San Antonio Spurs
- Indiana Pacers
- Golden State Warriors
It’s a huge win for the Pistons and for general manager Troy Weaver, who had one of the best drafts of any NBA team in 2020, nabbing Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, and Saben Lee. This time around, Detroit is in position to draft Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, who is widely considered to be the No. 1 prospect in the 2021 draft class.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the plan is for Cunningham to visit just one team before the July 29 draft: the Pistons.
The Rockets, like Detroit, entered the night with the best odds at landing a top-four pick (52.1%). And while they ended up at No. 2 rather than No. 1, it’s a major relief for the franchise, which would have had to send its pick to the Thunder in exchange for the No. 18 selection if it had landed outside of the top four.
Rather than falling out of the lottery, Houston is poised to take its pick from a top tier of prospects that includes Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, and Jonathan Kuminga. Whichever player the Rockets select figures to become the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild.
The Cavaliers and Raptors moved up in the lottery standings, from fifth and seventh respectively, into the top four. As we noted in our Cavs offseason preview earlier today, Cleveland hasn’t missed on any of its recent lottery picks, but also hasn’t landed a prospect who looks capable of being the club’s franchise player. The Cavs may get that opportunity in 2021.
As for the Raptors, after making the playoffs for seven straight seasons and winning a title in 2019, they had a disastrous 2020/21 campaign, displaced from their home in Toronto due to the coronavirus pandemic and dealing with constant COVID-19 and injury issues. They’re now in position to add an intriguing young player to a core that already includes Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby.
Although none of the teams that moved into the top four did so from the bottom half of the lottery, it’s worth noting that the No. 7 spot in the lottery standings has been especially lucky since the NBA revamped the format three years ago. The Pelicans moved up to No. 1 from that position in 2019, allowing them to draft Zion Williamson. In 2020, the Hornets moved from No. 7 to No. 3, putting them in position to select eventual Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball. Now the Raptors have moved up from that spot too.
The night’s biggest losers include the Timberwolves and Bulls, who would have held onto their lottery picks if they had moved into the top three and the top four, respectively. Instead, those picks will be sent to the Warriors and Magic at No. 7 and No. 8.
The Magic‘s own pick and the Thunder‘s selection slipped two spots as a result of the lottery — they’ll pick at No. 5 and No. 6.
It was still a good night for the Magic, who control two of the top eight picks in a strong draft, but the outcome wasn’t great for Oklahoma City. The Thunder entered the evening with the potential to come away with two top-five picks. Instead, they’ll have zero, having lost the ability to swap first-rounders with Houston.
The 9-14 picks in the draft lottery standings remained unchanged.
Ishmail Wainright Expected To Make Move To NBA; Raptors Said To Be Interested
Ishmail Wainright is expected to come over to the NBA this offseason, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The 26-year-old played for Strasbourg in the French LNB Pro A League this season, and was the team’s third-leading scorer as Strasbourg went 25-10, tied for the third-best record in the league. He averaged 11.8PPG, 4.6 RPG and 2.5 APG in 28 minutes per night.
According to Carchia, the Raptors are the frontrunners to sign Wainright. Blake Murphy of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that Toronto has been interested in the 6’5, 250 pound guard/forward for a while, though they are not the only team with interest.
Wainright played for Baylor University for four seasons from 2013-17, averaging 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and two APG. He also represented Uganda in this year’s FIBA Afrobasket qualifiers, leading the team to a 2-1 record with 36 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in the team’s final game.
If Wainright does sign with the Raptors, he would give them a versatile defender capable of guarding multiple positions who has shown the ability to hit threes in big moments. With their development staff’s track record of helping players become more consistent shooters, the Raptors may be hopeful they can turn his outside shot into more of a weapon.
NBA Plans New Rules Regarding “Non-Basketball” Moves
The NBA plans to adopt new rules for next season that would limit “non-basketball” moves used to draw fouls on defenders, writes Shams Charania of The Athletic. The changes still must go through the final discussion phase and receive approval from the competition committee and the league’s board of governors.
The rules were discussed Monday at a meeting of all 30 general managers in Chicago and they could be in place for the Las Vegas Summer League in August, sources tell Charania. The proposed changes stem from “serious discussions” throughout the NBA about minimizing some of the advantages that have been given to shooters.
According to Charania, referees will be trained to identify moves that are designed solely to draw contact, such as:
- A shooter who launches or leans into a defender at an abnormal angle.
- A shooter who kicks his leg at an abnormal angle.
- An offensive player who purposely veers sideways or backward into a defender.
The new rules mandate that these actions will be no-calls if they’re considered marginal or offensive fouls in more serious cases.