Eight Teams Left Out Of Restart To Conduct Workouts At Home Sites
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have finalized an agreement that will allow the eight teams who were not invited to Orlando to conduct voluntary group workouts at their team facilities, according to a league press release.
The teams will each reside in a campus-like environment under controlled conditions. The agreement includes comprehensive health and safety protocols.
The workout program is scheduled to take place Sept. 14–Oct. 6 and will be implemented in phases. The first phase, which will be held Sept. 14-2o, will consist of voluntary individual workouts at team facilities and the commencement of daily COVID-19 testing for all players and staff planning to participate in group workouts.
The second phase will occur from Sept. 21–Oct. 6. It will consist of group training activities in market, which may include practices, skill or conditioning sessions, and intra-squad scrimmages. Daily coronavirus testing will continue during that phase and each team will create its own campus-like environment in its home city.
The “campus” will include the team’s facilities and private living accommodations for all participating players and team staff. In order to participate in group training activities, players and team staff must remain on the campus.
In addition to players under contract with the team, each of the eight teams may also include up to five players who are not currently under an NBA contract, but who were under an NBA G League contract and assigned to the team’s NBAGL affiliate this season.
Discussions about organized team activities (OTAs) – including group workouts and scrimmages – for those eight clubs have been ongoing for weeks. There was plenty of speculation that the teams would convene at one site but obviously both the league and NBAPA decided it would be easier and safer to keep the teams in their home cities.
The Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pistons, Knicks, Bulls, and Hornets were the eight teams left out of the restart.
Latest On Kings’ GM Search
The Kings appear likely to hire an executive search firm to help them find a new permanent general manager following Vlade Divac‘s departure, league sources tell Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. However, according to Anderson, several names have already been connected to the position as possible targets for Saramento.
Anderson identifies Spurs VP of basketball operations Brent Barry, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster, Knicks GM Scott Perry, Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren, Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, and Clippers assistant GM Trent Redden as executives who may be on the Kings’ preliminary list of candidates.
Sean Cunningham of ABC10, who singled out many of those same execs as ones to watch, mentioned veteran agent Bill Duffy as another possibility (Twitter link). However, Duffy indicated today that he currently has no plans to follow in the footsteps of Bob Myers, Leon Rose, and other agents who have made the move to a team’s front office.
“There’s no truth to me joining an NBA organization,” Duffy told Jason Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I’m fully committed to my clients and their success.”
Joe Dumars, who is the Kings’ interim head of basketball operations, will be involved in the search for a new GM, though team owner Vivek Ranadive and COO Matina Kolokotronis are “viewed as the ultimate decision makers,” Anderson writes.
Anderson also notes that it will be interesting to see what sort of role Dumars ultimately retains in the front office, since Divac’s departure stemmed from Ranadive’s desire to have the former Pistons GM take on a larger role and to have the final say on the roster. Sources tell Anderson that some qualified candidates may be reluctant to fill Sacramento’s GM opening if it doesn’t come with full control over the roster.
Knicks To Hire Johnnie Bryant As Associate Head Coach
The Knicks are hiring veteran Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant as their new associate head coach under head coach Tom Thibodeau, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bryant is the second assistant confirmed to be part of Thibodeau’s staff, joining Kenny Payne.
[RELATED: Knicks hire Kenny Payne as assistant coach]
Having initially joined the Jazz in 2012 as a player development coach, Bryant was promoted to his assistant role in 2014 when Quin Snyder was named the team’s head coach. He has been a key part of Snyder’s staff since then, with Jazz beat writers Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links) both noting that Bryant is highly regarded for his player development skills. Jones adds that Bryant has a “very close” relationship with rising Utah star Donovan Mitchell.
In New York, Bryant will be Thibodeau’s lead assistant on a staff that also features Payne and is expected to include a pair of former Knicks coaches, Mike Miller and Mike Woodson. Neither Miller nor Woodson has been officially named an assistant yet, but multiple reports in recent weeks have indicated they’re good bets to be part of Thibodeau’s staff.
Bryant’s player development abilities will be put to the test as he joins a team that features numerous recent top-10 picks, including RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, and Dennis Smith Jr.
Gordon Hayward Expected To Miss Four Weeks With Ankle Injury
The Celtics expect to be without Gordon Hayward for approximately the next four weeks, announcing today (via Twitter) that the forward suffered a Grade III sprain of his right ankle during the fourth quarter of Monday’s Game 1 win over Philadelphia.
Hayward was battling with 76ers center Joel Embiid for position late in the fourth quarter on Monday when he appeared to twisted his right foot and fell to the floor. He was able to limp off the court and back to the locker room, but left the arena on crutches, per Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). The veteran later underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
It’s a tough blow for Hayward – who has been plagued by injuries since arriving in Boston in 2017 – and for the Celtics, whose already lean pretty heavily on their top few rotation players.
As Tim Bontemps of ESPN observes, Marcus Smart will likely replace Hayward in the starting lineup, joining Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, and Daniel Theis. That would leave players like Robert Williams, Enes Kanter, Brad Wanamaker, Romeo Langford, and Grant Williams as Boston’s top bench options.
A four-week recovery timetable for Hayward would rule him out for the rest of the Celtics’ first-round series vs. Philadelphia. Assuming Boston advances to the second round, the 30-year-old may not be available against the team’s next opponent (presumably Toronto) either, since the conference semifinals are scheduled to take place during the first two weeks of September.
Further complicating Hayward’s future availability are his plans to leave the NBA campus at some point in September for the birth of his fourth child. It’s not clear whether that will happen early or late in the month.
Mike Conley Returns To NBA Campus
Jazz point guard Mike Conley has returned to the NBA’s campus at Walt Disney World, the team confirmed today (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). Conley had left over the weekend to attend the birth of his son in Ohio.
Conley missed the first game of Utah’s first-round series against Denver – an overtime loss – and will be quarantining through at least Game 2 on Wednesday. However, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that there’s optimism the point guard could clear his quarantine in time for Game 3 on Friday.
The NBA’s protocols call for a quarantine period of at least four days when a player leaves the Disney campus. Game 3 of the Jazz/Nuggets series will be getting underway in a little over 75 hours, so Woj’s report suggests that Conley’s quarantine period may cover parts of four days, rather than a full 96 hours.
If Conley can return to the Jazz’s lineup for Game 3, it would give the club a major boost in its matchup with Denver. The longtime Grizzlies point guard had an up-and-down first season in Utah, but has been productive since arriving at Disney World for the summer restart. In six seeding games, he averaged 18.0 PPG and 5.0 APG, while knocking down 37.2% of his three-point attempts.
Execs Think Brogdon Contract Will Set Market For VanVleet
Executives around the NBA believe that the four-year, $85MM contract signed by Malcolm Brogdon last summer will set the market for Raptors guard Fred VanVleet this fall, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Brogdon, who was 26 when he reached free agency in 2019, was coming off a season in which he averaged 15.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.2 APG with an impressive .505/.426/.928 shooting line in 64 games for the top-seeded Bucks.
VanVleet’s shooting line in 2019/20 (.413/.390/.848) isn’t as impressive as Brogdon’s was, but the Raptors guard – who will also enter free agency at age 26 – is a strong defender who has enjoyed a career year offensively for the defending champions, with 17.6 PPG and 6.6 APG in 54 games.
As Windhorst points out, the NBA’s economy was healthier a year ago, and the fact that Brogdon was a restricted free agent helped boost his value. The Pacers had to make an aggressive offer to convince Milwaukee to sign-and-trade Brogdon to a division rival rarely than simply matching and retaining him.
However, there are factors working in VanVleet’s favor as well. If Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram return to their respective teams, the Raptors guard could be the top free agent on the market, and he’d be an intriguing target for certain rebuilding teams with cap room, such as the Knicks and Pistons. Additionally, the Bucks reportedly had some health concerns related to Brogdon’s feet, which won’t apply to VanVleet.
Another strong playoff run could help further increase VanVleet’s free agent value. He got off to a good start on Monday, leading the Raptors to a blowout Game 1 win over Brooklyn with 30 points, 11 assists, and eight three-pointers.
Toronto will have the cap flexibility to necessary to retain VanVleet, but a pricey multiyear contract for the standout guard would cut into the team’s projected room for 2021, when president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri hopes to make a run at Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Giannis is sending strong signals that he intends to sign an extension with the Bucks, it could increase the Raptors’ willingness to pay big long-term money to VanVleet.
Rajon Rondo Clears Quarantine, Nears Return
3:20pm: Rondo has been medically cleared to play but is unlikely to see any action in Game 1 against Portland, Vogel said today (Twitter link via McMenamin).
9:05am: Approximately five weeks after suffering a fractured right thumb, Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo is back on the NBA’s campus at Walt Disney World and is set to clear his four-day quarantine on Monday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. However, as McMenamin notes, it’s not yet clear when Rondo will be able to play.
“I’m not sure exactly when he’s going to be available to be in uniform,” head coach Frank Vogel said during a Sunday conference call. “We’ll get him on the court and see where he’s at. But no specific timetable yet on him.”
When Rondo underwent surgery on his fractured thumb on July 16, the team estimated that he would return to basketball activities in about six-to-eight weeks. That means he still may be at least a week or two away from returning to the court.
Teammate Anthony Davis suggested as much on Sunday, telling reporters that Rondo is “not going to be on the floor with us” for L.A.’s first-round series against Portland, as McMenamin relays. However, AD added that the veteran point guard will “be there helping us out.” According to McMenamin, Vogel said on Sunday that Rondo has actively participated in the club’s coaches’ meetings since being injured.
Without Rondo and guard Avery Bradley – who opted out of the NBA’s restart – the Lakers will continue to lean more heavily on Alex Caruso, Dion Waiters, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (assuming he’s fully healthy), with J.R. Smith and Quinn Cook also moving up on the depth chart.
2020 Pre-Lottery NBA Draft Order
The NBA conducted its draft tiebreakers on Monday, further cementing the draft order for 2020. While we’ll have to wait until this Thursday’s draft lottery to determine the exact order for this year’s event, we now know what most of the 60 selections look like.
Listed below is the pre-lottery 2020 NBA draft order. Each lottery team’s chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick are noted in parentheses. We’ve also included notes for picks whose status remains up in the air — for example, the Grizzlies‘ first-round pick could still technically end up with either Memphis or the Celtics.
For teams with identical records, Monday’s tiebreakers only determined the first-round order — that order is reversed in the second round. As such, a couple second-round picks may hinge on next month’s lottery results.
For instance, even though the Kings won the tiebreaker vs. the Pelicans for the No. 12 spot in the lottery order, New Orleans could still leapfrog Sacramento in the lottery, in which case the Kings’ second-round pick would move ahead of the Pelicans’ second-rounder.
We’ll provided an updated list after the August 20 lottery, once the official draft order is set, but here’s the tentative 2020 NBA draft order:
First Round:
- Golden State Warriors (14.0%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (14.0%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (14.0%)
- Atlanta Hawks (12.5%)
- Detroit Pistons (10.5%)
- New York Knicks (9.0%)
- Chicago Bulls (7.5%)
- Charlotte Hornets (6.0%)
- Washington Wizards (4.5%)
- Phoenix Suns (3.0%)
- San Antonio Spurs (2.0%)
- Sacramento Kings (1.3%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (1.2%)
- Boston Celtics (from Grizzlies) (0.5%)
- Note: The Grizzlies will keep this pick if it moves up into the top four (2.4% chance).
- Orlando Magic
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nets)
- Dallas Mavericks
- Brooklyn Nets (from Sixers)
- Miami Heat
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Thunder)
- Denver Nuggets (from Rockets)
- Utah Jazz
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Pacers)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Nuggets)
- Boston Celtics
- New York Knicks (from Clippers)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Toronto Raptors
- Boston Celtics (from Bucks)
Second Round:
- Dallas Mavericks (from Warriors)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Cavaliers)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Hawks)
- Sacramento Kings (from Pistons)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Knicks)
- Washington Wizards (from Bulls)
- New York Knicks (from Hornets)
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Wizards)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Suns)
- San Antonio Spurs
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Sacramento Kings
- Note: Kings would swap places with Pelicans if New Orleans gets higher first-round pick than Sacramento via lottery.
- Chicago Bulls (from Grizzlies)
- Orlando Magic
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Boston Celtics (from Nets)
- Golden State Warriors (from Mavericks)
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Atlanta Hawks (from Heat)
- Golden State Warriors (from Jazz)
- Sacramento Kings (from Rockets)
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Indiana Pacers
- Brooklyn Nets (from Nuggets)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Celtics)
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Lakers)
- Toronto Raptors
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Bucks)
Information from NBA.com was used in the creation of this post.
2020 NBA Draft Tiebreaker Results
The Kings won a key NBA draft tiebreaker that took place today, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The league conducts tiebreakers when two teams finish the season with the same record. The winner of the tiebreaker gets the higher pick or the higher spot in the lottery standings.
In Sacramento’s case, the team entered the March 11 hiatus with a 28-36 record, identical to the Pelicans‘ 28-36 mark. Because the NBA is sorting its lottery standings based on non-playoff teams’ pre-hiatus records, the Kings and Pelicans had been tied for the 12th spot.
As a result of today’s tiebreaker, Sacramento will get the 12th pick in the draft, assuming neither of the two teams behind them jump into the top four; the Pelicans would receive the 13th pick in that scenario. The two teams’ draft lottery odds will be nearly identical, though Sacramento will have the slight edge, with the Kings receiving 13 of 1,000 available ping-pong ball combinations on lottery night, compared to 12 combinations for the Pelicans.
In the second round, the order will be flipped — the Pelicans will get the No. 42 pick and the Kings will be at No. 43.
Meanwhile, the Thunder finished the season tied with the Rockets and Jazz in the standings at 44-28, so a tiebreaker was required to determine their draft order.
As a result of today’s tiebreaker, the Oklahoma City pick will be No. 21, according to Charania, who adds that Houston’s pick will be No. 22, followed by Utah’s at No. 23.
Of those three teams, only the Jazz actually still own their 2020 first-rounder. The Sixers will receive OKC’s No. 21 pick, while the Nuggets will get Houston’s pick at No. 22. It’s an ideal outcome for Philadelphia, considering that Thunder pick was top-20 protected.
In the second round, Utah’s pick will be No. 51, Houston’s will be No. 52, and Oklahoma City’s will be No. 53. However, the Jazz and Rockets don’t own their second-rounders. Instead, it’ll be the Warriors drafting at No. 51 and the Kings at No. 52.
Peja Stojakovic Resigns As Kings’ Assistant GM
5:14pm: The Kings have announced Stojanovic’s resignation, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports California.
“It has been a great joy and honor to work in the Kings’ front office for the past five years,” Stojakovic said in a statement. “I want to thank the organization and especially the incredible fans around the world for the support over the years. Sacramento will always be home to me and I wish the franchise nothing but the very best.”
2:47pm: Assistant general manager Peja Stojakovic will likely be the next executive to leave the Kings‘ front office, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charnia that Stojakovic is expected to resign his position, following Friday’s announcement that GM Vlade Divac is parting ways with the franchise.
A former star player with Sacramento, Stojakovic was hired as director of player personnel and development in 2015. Three years later, he was promoted to his current role as assistant GM, which also involves running the team’s G League affiliate in Stockton.
The Kings may be looking at a full front office makeover once Divac and Stojakovic are officially gone. Former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who was serving as a special advisor, will be running the franchise until a new GM is hired.