Fred VanVleet Expected To Draw Interest From Pistons, Knicks, Suns
The Pistons, Knicks, and Suns are among the teams expected to emerge as suitors for Fred VanVleet once the Raptors guard reaches unrestricted free agency this offseason, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
VanVleet projects to be one of the top free agents on the market when the 2020/21 league year begins. The 26-year-old is coming off a career year in which he averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 3.8 RPG on .413/.390/.848 shooting in 54 contests and is off to a hot start in the postseason, with 21.3 PPG, 7.8 APG, and 4.0 RPG on .527/.559/.800 shooting in four games against Brooklyn.
Only a handful of teams project to have cap room available this offseason, so the Raptors are in a good position to re-sign VanVleet. However, a team like the Pistons or Knicks could certainly make things interesting — and make signing VanVleet a more costly endeavor. Neither club has a long-term answer at the point and both will have cap space at their disposal this fall. VanVleet also played for current Pistons head coach Dwane Casey in Toronto.
As for Phoenix, the fit there is less obvious, considering the Suns already have Devin Booker and Ricky Rubio in their backcourt and may not have the cap flexibility to make a competitive bid for VanVleet if they hope to bring back contributors like Dario Saric, Aron Baynes, or Frank Kaminsky.
Still, VanVleet has plenty of experience playing alongside another point guard in Toronto, where he started this season alongside Kyle Lowry, and Suns GM James Jones showed last year in his pursuit of Rubio that he’s willing to make moves to carve out cap room if there’s a target he likes. Bobby Marks of ESPN recently suggested the idea of trading Rubio to a team like Atlanta to open up cap space for VanVleet.
The four-year, $85MM contract signed by Malcolm Brogdon in 2019 was recently cited as a potential point of comparison for VanVleet’s next deal.
Kyle Lowry Has Ankle Sprain, No Timeline Provided For Return
After undergoing an MRI, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain, the team announced today in a press release. Lowry suffered the injury during the first quarter of Sunday’s blowout win over Brooklyn.
The Raptors didn’t provide any sort of timeline for Lowry’s recovery and return, stating in today’s announcement that his condition will be updated as appropriate.
Lowry’s return date will largely be dictated by the severity of the sprain. Mavericks star Luka Doncic was able to play in Game 4 of Dallas’ series on Sunday after spraining his ankle in Game 3 on Friday and had one of the best games of his career. However, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has been ruled out for four weeks with a more severe sprain.
The Raptors’ second-round series against Boston is scheduled to get underway on Thursday evening, so it’s safe to assume we’ll get an update on Lowry’s potential availability for Game 1 within the next couple days.
Although the Raptors went 12-2 without Lowry in their lineup this season, the six-time All-Star has been a crucial part of the team’s success. Toronto’s chances of advancing to the Eastern Finals would dip if he’s forced to miss any time.
If Lowry does have to sit out, Norman Powell would be the top candidate to slide into the starting lineup, with rookie Terence Davis likely earning some extra playing time off the bench.
Board Of Governors Discusses Moving Draft, Free Agency, Start Of Next Season
The original dates the NBA set for the draft, free agency and the start of next season may be overly optimistic. The league’s board of governors addressed all three topics during a conference call Friday with commissioner Adam Silver, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Wojnarowski cites a report earlier this week that NBPA executive director Michele Roberts and other union officials have been preparing players for a delay in the start of free agency, which is currently set for October 18. Any changes must be bargained between the league and the union, but there is speculation the delay could be several weeks. Both sides seem to agree that pushing back the start of next season, which has tentatively been set for December 1, would create a greater opportunity to play in front of live crowds.
“Our No. 1 goal is to get fans back into arenas,” Silver said Thursday during ESPN’s draft lottery show. “… If it’s pushed back and it increases the likelihood of fans in arenas … that’s what we’d be targeting.”
Delaying free agency would give the league and the union more time to work out salary cap and luxury tax details for 2020/21. They are typically based on numbers from the previous season, but neither side wants to take that route because of this year’s sharp downturn in revenue.
NBA officials hope a delay will provide more information on how games can safely be played next season with fans in the arenas. Silver has estimated that paying customers provide 40% of the league’s revenue.
Domantas Sabonis Returning To Disney World Campus, Not Expected To Play
All-star forward Domantas Sabonis is scheduled to arrive in Orlando today, tweets Pacers reporter Scott Agness. Coach Nate McMillan confirmed the news this afternoon on the Fox Sports Indiana pre-game show, adding that Sabonis will quarantine “for a few days.”
Sabonis probably hasn’t been involved in any basketball activity over the last six weeks, and sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski he’s not expected to return to the active roster (Twitter link).
Sabonis traveled to the Disney World complex with the team in July, but left shortly after scrimmages began to get treatment for plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The injury was termed “significant” when it was first reported.
The 24-year-old center/power forward is putting up career-best numbers in his fourth NBA season, averaging 18.5 points and 12.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 62 games.
Nick Nurse Wins NBA Coach Of The Year
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been named the 2019/20 NBA Head Coach of the Year, the league announced today in a press release.
Nurse, 53, led Toronto to the organization’s first NBA championship last season. Despite the loss of Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors had an even better winning percentage during the ’19/20 regular season than they did a year ago, clinching the Eastern Conference’s second seed. Toronto currently holds a 3-0 lead over the Nets in the team’s first-round playoff series.
Of the 100 total first-place votes, Nurse garnered 90 of them in a clear runaway with the award. His 470 total points dwarfed the 147 points earned by runner-up Mike Budenholzer — the Bucks head coach received five first-place votes.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, who received four first-place votes, was the third-place finisher with 134 total points. Pacers head coach Nate McMillan got the final first-place vote.
Here’s the full breakdown of the voting for the NBA Coach of the Year:
- Nurse (470 points)
- Budenholzer (147)
- Donovan (134)
- Erik Spoelstra, Heat (154)
- Frank Vogel, Lakers (36)
- Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies (29)
- McMillan (12)
- Brad Stevens, Celtics (5)
- Michael Malone, Nuggets (5)
- Doc Rivers, Clippers (5)
- Rick Carlisle, Mavericks (3)
NBA Updates List Of Early Entrants For 2020 Draft
Following the NBA’s August 17 deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2020 NBA draft, the league has issued an updated list of the early entrants who remain in this year’s draft pool.
The list, which includes 72 college players and 36 international prospects, looks pretty similar to the one you’ll find on our running tracker.
The NBA’s update confirms that Joe Saterfield, a wing from Ranger Community College, is no longer in the draft pool, but guard Michael Lenoir, from Creating Young Minds Academy in Texas, has entered his name.
Meanwhile, in the international pool, center Berke Atar, forward Philippe Bayehe, center Vinicius Da Silva, guard Selim Fofana, center Dut Mabor, forward Yigitcan Saybir, and forward Andrii Voinalovych have removed their names from draft consideration. Croatian forward Darko Bajo, previously believed to be pulling his name out of the draft, remains on the early entrant list, and center Aboubacar Traore from Canada’s Dynasty Sports Institute has entered his name.
The college players who remain in the draft pool have foregone their remaining NCAA eligibility, since the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants passed earlier this month. However, the NBA’s own withdrawal deadline doesn’t arrive until 10 days before the draft. Many international prospects figure to pull out by then, and some of the college players could too, if they decide to go pro without becoming immediately draft-eligible.
Currently, the 2020 draft is scheduled for October 16, though there’s still a chance it could be further delayed. If it remains on October 16, the withdrawal deadline for the early entrants listed below will be October 6.
Per the NBA, here’s the list of the 108 early entrants who remain in the 2020 draft pool for now:
College Players:
- Precious Achiuwa, F, Memphis (freshman)
- Milan Acquaah, G, California Baptist (junior)
- Ty-Shon Alexander, G, Creighton (junior)
- Cole Anthony, G, North Carolina (freshman)
- Brendan Bailey, F, Marquette (sophomore)
- Saddiq Bey, F, Villanova (sophomore)
- Tyler Bey, F, Colorado (junior)
- Jermaine Bishop, G, Norfolk State (junior)
- Dachon Burke, G, Nebraska (junior)
- Vernon Carey Jr., C, Duke (freshman)
- Nate Darling, G, Delaware (junior)
- Lamine Diane, F, Cal State Northridge (sophomore)
- Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (sophomore)
- Anthony Edwards, G, Georgia (freshman)
- CJ Elleby, F, Washington State (sophomore)
- Malik Fitts, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
- Malachi Flynn, G, San Diego State (junior)
- Tony Goodwin II, G/F, Redemption Academy (N/A)
- Josh Green, G/F, Arizona (freshman)
- Ashton Hagans, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Tyrese Haliburton, G, Iowa State (sophomore)
- Josh Hall, F, Moravian Prep (N/A)
- Rayshaun Hammonds, F, Georgia (junior)
- Jalen Harris, G, Nevada (junior)
- Niven Hart, G, Fresno State (freshman)
- Nate Hinton, G/F, Houston (sophomore)
- Elijah Hughes, G/F, Syracuse (junior)
- Isaiah Joe, G, Arkansas (sophomore)
- Dakari Johnson, G, Cape Fear CC (freshman)
- C.J. Jones, G, Middle Tennessee (junior)
- Mason Jones, G, Arkansas (junior)
- Tre Jones, G, Duke (sophomore)
- Saben Lee, G, Vanderbilt (junior)
- Michael Lenoir, G, Creating Young Minds Academy (N/A)
- Kira Lewis, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Nico Mannion, G, Arizona (freshman)
- Naji Marshall, F, Xavier (junior)
- Kenyon Martin Jr., F, IMG Academy (N/A)
- Tyrese Maxey, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- Jaden McDaniels, F, Washington (freshman)
- Isiaha Mike, F, SMU (junior)
- EJ Montgomery, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Aaron Nesmith, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
- Zeke Nnaji, F, Arizona (freshman)
- Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (junior)
- Onyeka Okongwu, F/C, USC (freshman)
- Isaac Okoro, F, Auburn (freshman)
- Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota (sophomore)
- Reggie Perry, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
- Filip Petrusev, F/C, Gonzaga (sophomore)
- Nate Pierre-Louis, G, Temple (junior)
- Immanuel Quickley, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Jahmi’us Ramsey, G, Texas Tech (freshman)
- Paul Reed, F, DePaul (junior)
- Nick Richards, F/C, Kentucky (junior)
- Jay Scrubb, G, John A. Logan College (sophomore)
- Jalen Smith, F, Maryland (sophomore)
- Cassius Stanley, G, Duke (freshman)
- Isaiah Stewart, F/C, Washington (freshman)
- Tyrell Terry, G, Stanford (freshman)
- Xavier Tillman, F/C, Michigan State (junior)
- Obi Toppin, F, Dayton (sophomore)
- Jordan Tucker, F, Butler (sophomore)
- Devin Vassell, G, Florida State (sophomore)
- Nick Weatherspoon, G, Mississippi State (junior)
- Kaleb Wesson, F/C, Ohio State (junior)
- Kahlil Whitney, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- Emmitt Williams, F, LSU (sophomore)
- Patrick Williams, F, Florida State (freshman)
- James Wiseman, C, Memphis (freshman)
- Robert Woodard II, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
- Omer Yurtseven, C, Georgetown (junior)
International Players:
Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.
- Deni Avdija, F, Israel (born 2001)
- Brancou Badio, F, Spain (born 1999)
- Darko Bajo, F, Croatia (born 1999)
- Marek Blazevic, C, Lithuania (born 2001)
- Adrian Bogucki, C, Poland (born 2000)
- Leandro Bolmaro, F, Spain (born 2000)
- Henri Drell, G/F, Italy (born 2000)
- Imru Duke, F, Spain (born 1999)
- Michele Ebeling, F, Italy (born 1999)
- Paul Eboua, F, Italy (born 2000)
- Osas Ehigiator, C, Spain (born 1999)
- Joel Ekamba, G, France (born 2001)
- Miguel Gonzalez, G/F, Spain (born 1999)
- Killian Hayes, G, Germany (born 2001)
- Sehmus Hazer, G, Turkey (born 1999)
- Rokas Jokubaitis, G, Lithuania (born 2000)
- Georgios Kalaitzakis, G, Lithuania (born 1999)
- Vit Krejci, G, Spain (born 2000)
- Arturs Kurucs, G, Latvia (born 2000)
- Yam Madar, G, Israel (born 2000)
- Theo Maledon, G, France (born 2001)
- Karim Mane, G, Canada (born 2000)
- Sergi Martinez, F, Spain (born 1999)
- Nikola Miskovic, F, Serbia (born 1999)
- Aristide Mouaha, G, Italy (born 2000)
- Caio Pacheco, G, Argentina (born 1999)
- Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
- Aleksej Pokusevski, F, Greece (born 2001)
- Sander Raieste, F, Estonia (born 1999)
- Nikos Rogkavopoulos, F, Greece (born 2001)
- Njegos Sikiras, F, Spain (born 1999)
- Marko Simonovic, C, Serbia (born 1999)
- Mouhamed Thiam, C, France (born 2001)
- Aboubacar Traore, G, Canada (born 2001)
- Uros Trifunovic, G, Serbia (born 2000)
- Arnas Velicka, G, Lithuania (born 1999)
Derrick White Undergoes Toe Surgery
Spurs guard Derrick White, fresh off the best season of his three-year NBA career, has undergone surgery on the dislocated second toe of his left foot, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that White had been dealing with the left toe dislocation since before the NBA’s Orlando restart.
San Antonio traveled to the NBA’s 22-team Orlando restart campus but just barely missed out on qualifying for the play-in game between the eighth and ninth seeds in the West, finishing with a 32-39 record and the No. 11 seed.
White, considered a core part of the Spurs’ future along with backcourt mate Dejounte Murray, will be eligible for an extension of his rookie contract once the 2020/21 league year begins. He averaged 11.3 PPG this season while playing terrific defense, including high marks for block percentage and defensive rebounding percentage. He converted 36.6% of his 3.2 three-point attempts per game.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted in a season review last week, locking in White long-term would be a savvy move for the Spurs as the team continues to rebuild during its first year out of the playoffs since 1997. Marks pegged an extension for White within the range of a four-year, $52MM deal, which would give Spurs team president and head coach Gregg Popovich and GM Brian Wright over $70MM in projected salary cap room for 2021 free agency, when several high-level All-Stars and role players are expected to be available.
The eight-figure contracts of Spurs veterans LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills will all come off San Antonio’s books in a year. The jury is out on whether guard DeMar DeRozan, the team’s priciest player, will exercise his $27.7MM player option for the 2020/21 season.
Zach Collins To Undergo Ankle Surgery, Done For Season
Starting Trail Blazers power forward Zach Collins will undergo surgery for a stress reaction in his left ankle and has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2019/20 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Collins was originally expected to be re-examined next week, but it seems the team decided to address his injury immediately.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports clarifies that the Collins injury is officially a hairline medial malleolus stress fracture (Twitter link).
After a surprise 100-93 victory in the first game of their 1-8 quarterfinals matchup with the Lakers, the Trail Blazers fell 111-88 to Los Angeles yesterday, tying the series at 1-1. Collins missed both contests, with rookie power forward Wenyen Gabriel starting in his stead.
This is certainly a blow for the Trail Blazers’ hopes of scoring a historic first round playoff upset against the Lakers, though it is not unfamiliar territory for the team this year. Collins missed most of Portland’s season with a left shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for all but 11 games of the Blazers’ regular season and Orlando campus seeding games.
The Blazers signed 17-year veteran Carmelo Anthony to replace Collins in November. During the season restart, Anthony shifted to the team’s starting small forward position after Trevor Ariza opted to sit out of the Disney World campus due to health concerns. Anthony may see more time at the power forward slot in the series going forward.
In Collins’ absence, the Blazers have also experimented with ultra-big lineups to counter the Lakers’ size during their series, occasionally playing centers Jusuf Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside together.
Jim Pallotta To Sell Minority Stake In Celtics
Jim Pallotta will sell his 8% share of the Celtics, sources tell Scott Soshnick of Sportico. Three people confirmed the planned deal, which hasn’t yet been approved the NBA.
Pallotta’s stake will be purchased by Steve Pagliuca, a managing partner and executive committee member of the Celtics. Pagliuca is among the team’s majority stakeholders, along with Wyc Grousbeck.
A managing director at Bain Capital, Pagliuca will acquire the share at a $2.8 billion valuation, according to Soshnick. The Celtics’ value was listed at $3.1 billion in the latest estimate by Forbes, but sales of minority stakes in teams usually come at a 10-30% discount, Soshnick explains, because they don’t include control or voting rights.
Pallotta recently sold AS Roma, a Serie A soccer team, which his group purchased in 2011. The sale came after his unsuccessful attempt to get a new stadium.
Teams Believe 2020 Draft Day May Be Delayed
Team executives are skeptical that the league will be able to hold its draft on the scheduled date of October 16, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN, who was in the drawing room for last night’s lottery.
Lowe cites doubt that the NBA and its players union can agree to firm salary cap figures for next season in time for the draft or free agency, which is set to begin two days later.
The salary cap is determined by the projected revenue for the following season, which is based on the league’s revenue from the previous season, Lowe explains. However, this year featured a disastrous economic downturn brought on by a dispute with China and the loss of paying customers due to the coronavirus.
Neither NBA officials or the union want next year’s cap to be determined by that, so it’s possible that this year’s $109MM figure might be carried over into next season with a larger portion of players’ salaries being placed into escrow so they don’t exceed their guaranteed share of revenue.
Lowe expects the process to require extensive negotiations, which could delay free agency into November or December. It may also result in a complete rewriting of the collective bargaining agreement, although he states that neither side wants that.
The league normally provides the final cap number sometime between the draft and the start of free agency, but the current schedule only provides a 48-hour window. Lowe also notes that the draft marks one of the most active times of the year for trades, and teams will be reluctant to make moves involving veteran players without knowing the cap figure.
Some executives have suggested changing the rules so teams can only trade picks before the draft, but many organizations make those decisions with an eye on free agency, which may not have a set date when draft night arrives. Lowe says the league may decide to keep its current draft plans in place or it could try to race through negotiations so it can provide teams with preliminary cap estimates. He emphasizes that nobody really knows at this point what the solution will be.