Marvin Bagley III Ruled Out For Season Restart
Kings big man Marvin Bagley III has officially been ruled out for the NBA’s season restart due to a lateral sprain in his right foot following an MRI on Sunday evening, according to Sam Amick and Shams Charania of the Athletic (Twitter link). He is expected to be in a walking boot for the next two weeks, Charania tweets.
A press release from the team indicates that Bagley suffered the injury in a team scrimmage on Sunday (h/t to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area who first tweeted the announcement).
Bagley, the No. 2 pick in a loaded 2018 draft that has already yielded two All-Stars, posted 2019/20 season averages of 14.2 PPG and 7.5 RPG across just 13 games in 25.7 MPG. He also missed 20 games during his 2018/19 rookie season.
Bagley had previously missed most of his second season as a result of a left foot sprain and a thumb injury. This right foot sprain is a new injury. In addition to this being a long-term situation to monitor for the 6’11” Duke alum, this also spells bad short-term news for the Kings. Teams can only replace players afflicted with COVID-19 when on the Disney World campus, not players who get injured on-site.
Bagley is not the only current absent player for the Kings. Forward Harrison Barnes has yet to report to the NBA’s campus after contracting the coronavirus earlier this month. Starting point guard De’Aaron Fox returned to non-contact drills with the team today as he continues to recover from a less severe ankle injury.
At 28-36, the team is the eleventh seed in the Western Conference and was thus already a long shot to make the playoffs even before these absences.
Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn Join Heat In Orlando
Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo and 2020 Rookie of the Year candidate and starting point guard Kendrick Nunn have arrived at the Disney World campus in Orlando ahead of the NBA’s season start, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Both players will need to quarantine in their hotel rooms for two days, pass a physical, and notch consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before rejoining Miami for practices and scrimmages.
A reason for the two Miami starters’ absence was not given, though last week in a conference call head coach Erik Spoelstra had noted that two Heat players were absent while continuing to recover from the coronavirus. Forward Derrick Jones Jr. also dealt with a bout of COVID-19 in June, though he has made a full recovery and is already with the team.
The Heat are scheduled to play the Nuggets in their first game of the NBA summer restart on Saturday, August 1. Led by Adebayo and veteran All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler, Miami is currently the No. 4 seed in the East with a 41-24 record.
Kevin Garnett Part Of Group Preparing Bid For Wolves
5:24pm: Garnett wants to keep the Wolves in Minnesota if his group is successful in its bid, sources tell Charania (Twitter link).
4:58pm: Former Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett is part of a group of investors preparing a bid to submit to Wolves owner Glen Taylor in the hopes of purchasing the franchise, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
As we detailed in our earlier story about Taylor exploring a possible sale of the Wolves, Charania initially reported that Garnett’s group was seriously interested in the team and was exploring the possibility of a bid. Now it sounds as if KG’s group is close to officially putting an offer on the table.
A Hall-of-Famer, Garnett didn’t win a championship until after he was traded to the Celtics, but enjoyed the most productive years of his NBA career in Minnesota. He averaged 19.8 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 1.6 BPG in 970 games (37.3 MPG) over 14 seasons with the Wolves, including the last couple years of his career. Garnett was a 10-time All-Star, a four-time rebounding champion, and the 2004 MVP during his time with the franchise.
However, Garnett hasn’t been on good terms with Taylor for the last several years, having previously suggested that he felt there was an understanding he would join the Wolves’ front office after his retirement — and that Taylor reneged on that agreement following the death of Flip Saunders. Still, even when Garnett has criticized Taylor, he has always stressed his fondness for Minnesota and the Timberwolves.
“My years in Minnesota and in that community, I cherish,” Garnett told Charania in April when discussing why his number hadn’t been retired by the Wolves. “At this point, I don’t want any dealings with Glen Taylor or Taylor Corp. or anything that has to do with him. I love my Timberwolves, I’ll always love my guys, I’ll always love the people who f–k with me there. I’ll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart.”
Although Garnett made a staggering $343MM+ over the course of his 21-year NBA career, per Basketball-Reference, he probably isn’t in position to become the majority owner of a franchise valued at $1.375 billion by Forbes earlier this year. It’s not yet clear what other investors are part of Garnett’s group.
As we noted in our earlier story, Taylor has retained The Raine Group to explore a sale of the Timberwolves and has made it clear he’s not interested in selling to a group that wants to relocate the team. Presumably, given his connection with Minnesota, KG’s goal would be to keep the Wolves in their current location, though he has also talked in the past about wanting to bring the NBA back to Seattle.
Taylor also told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) today that if a sale is completed, he’d expect his WNBA team – the Minnesota Lynx – to be part of it.
“The way I run it, it’s all one thing,” Taylor said. “I would assume we would want to keep it that way and make it more efficient.”
Glen Taylor Exploring Sale Of Timberwolves
4:13pm: Taylor tells Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links) that The Raine Group approached him about a potential buyer, but it didn’t work out because the group wanted to relocate the franchise.
“People have inquired who are interested but they want to move the team,” Taylor said. “They are not a candidate. We’ve made that very clear.”
Although that offer didn’t gain traction, there are other potential options available that are being explored, Krawczynski notes.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), Kevin Garnett is part of one group of investors that has serious interest in buying the Timberwolves and is exploring a bid.
3:30pm: Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has retained The Raine Group to explore a sale of the franchise, three people with direct knowledge of the situation tell Scott Soshnick of Sportico.
According to Soshnick, multiple parties have already bid on the team. One of Soshnick’s sources suggests that a sale agreement could even be reached within the next month.
Taylor’s decision is unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Soschnick, who adds that the Wolves’ owner didn’t want a public auction and instead asked Raine to directly seek out a buyer.
The Raine Group, a global merchant bank, has experience dealing in the sports world, having previously worked with FIFA to raise capital for the World Cup, Soshnick notes. The firm also assisted in the sale of a $500MM stake in Manchester City FC to private equity giant Silver Lake.
Taylor has owned the Timberwolves since 1994, having paid a reported $88MM for the franchise at the time. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated that the current value of the Wolves is $1.375 billion.
Although the Wolves experienced some success early in Taylor’s tenure, making the postseason eight straight times when Kevin Garnett was on the roster, the club only advanced beyond the first round once, in 2004. Minnesota didn’t make the playoffs for the next 13 years and has also missed out in each of the last two seasons following a 2018 postseason appearance.
The Wolves have struggled to build around their star players since 2004, trading away Garnett and eventually doing the same with Kevin Love. The team is now in the process of trying to find the right pieces to complement star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
In addition to their lack of success on the court, the Wolves have had their ups and downs off the court. Most notably, Garnett – the longtime face of the franchise – has been on bad terms with Taylor for years, having suggested that, after Flip Saunders passed away, the Wolves owner reneged on an agreement to have KG join the front office. Garnett referred to Taylor as a “snake” as recently as this spring.
If Taylor, a Minnesota native and a former Minnesota State Senator, moves forward and attempts to finalize a sale, he seems likely to do so with a buyer that would be committed to keeping the team in Minnesota, as Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets. The Wolves ranked last in the NBA in attendance during the 2019/20 season, so some potential suitors would likely be interested in exploring the possibility of relocation.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA Moves 2020 Draft Lottery To August 20
The NBA has moved up its 2020 draft lottery by five days, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the event, previously tentatively scheduled for August 25, will now take place on Thursday, August 20.
The eight teams with the best odds in this year’s lottery are the same eight teams that weren’t invited to participate in the resumption of the 2019/20 season in Orlando. The Warriors, Cavaliers, and Timberwolves each have a 14.0% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Hawks (12.5%), Pistons (10.5%), Knicks (9.0%), Bulls (7.5%), and Hornets (6.0%).
The other six teams that will be part of the 2020 lottery will be determined once this season’s 16 playoff teams have been set, which will happen a few days before August 20. The six clubs in Orlando that don’t make the postseason will occupy the bottom six spots in the lottery standings — their order will be determined by their records as of March 11.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: NBA Draft Lottery]
The tentative 2020 NBA draft lottery odds, assuming the Grizzlies, Magic, and Nets all hang onto their playoff spots, can be found right here. This year’s draft will take place on October 16.
Grizzlies’ Winslow Out For Season With Hip Injury
Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow, acquired from the Heat at the trade deadline, won’t get a chance to make his debut with his new team this summer after all. According to a press release, Winslow fell during an intra-squad scrimmage on Monday and injured his hip. The injury will force him to miss the rest of the season, per the club.
It’s a tough break for the Grizzlies and for Winslow, who had already missed the majority of the 2019/20 season due to a back injury. The 24-year-old appeared in just 11 games for Miami before being shut down, and had yet to suit up for Memphis.
Winslow averaged 12.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 4.3 APG with a .433/.375/.628 shooting line in 66 games (29.7 MPG) in 2018/19, showing impressive versatility on both ends of the court and taking on primary ball-handling duties at times.
Winslow was the centerpiece of the deadline deal that saw the Grizzlies take on Dion Waiters‘ and Gorgui Dieng‘s pricey multiyear contracts and send Andre Iguodala to Miami. The hope was that the young swingman would emerge as a long-term building block on an up-and-coming Memphis squad led by Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. If that’s going to happen, it’ll have to start in 2020/21 — Winslow has a $13MM salary next season, with a $13MM team option for ’21/22.
Although the Grizzlies got some bad news on Winslow, the club’s roster as a whole should still be healthier than it was in March before the season was suspended. Jackson and Brandon Clarke are on track to return from injuries of their own, so Winslow’s absence won’t create a major hole in coach Taylor Jenkins‘ rotation.
The Grizzlies have a 3.5-game cushion for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference, but holding onto that final playoff berth won’t be easy. Memphis has one of the summer’s most challenging eight-game schedules, which concludes with games against the Jazz, Thunder, Raptors, Celtics, and Bucks.
Before that, the Grizzlies will have to face the Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Pelicans, three teams chasing them for the No. 8 seed. The Kings and – to a lesser extent – the Suns are also in the running.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA G League Players Form Union
The NBA’s G League players have organized and formed a union, temporarily named the Basketball Players Union (BPU), the National Basketball Players Association announced in a press release. Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported the news (via Twitter).
According to today’s announcement, approximately 80% of players voted to unionize, and the NBA G League has agreed to voluntarily recognize the BPU as the players’ representative.
The newly-formed union will represent players on all NBA G League teams, including the Select Team that will be launched in 2020/21. However, players on two-way contracts or on NBAGL assignments from NBA rosters will continue to be repped by the NBPA.
“We are extremely pleased that our brothers in the G League elected to form their own union,” said Anthony Tolliver, a member of the NBPA’s executive committee. “The many NBA players with prior experience in the G League can personally attest to the value an organized union brings to players’ careers. We would like to especially thank Andre Ingram and John Holland who gave so much of their personal time to the organizing process.”
G League players earn $35K per season and don’t have anywhere near the same number of benefits enjoyed by NBA players. Now that they’re unionized, the BPU will have the opportunity to collective bargain salaries, benefits, and other working conditions with the NBAGL, so those negotiations will be worth keeping an eye on.
NBA Announces Official Rosters For Summer Restart
The NBA has announced the official summer rosters for each of the 22 teams involved in the resumption of the 2019/20 season. A total of 350 players make up the 22 squads, with only eight clubs carrying the maximum allowable 17 players. The Trail Blazers have the smallest summer roster, with just 13 players.
Injured players who didn’t make the trip to Orlando – such as Nets stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant – don’t show up on the official rosters list, but injured players who traveled with their teams – including Mavericks big man Dwight Powell and Pacers swingman Jeremy Lamb – are included, even if they won’t play this summer.
Besides players who are injured, voluntarily opted out, or were ruled out after contracting COVID-19, there are a few more notable omissions on the list, which we’ll round up here:
- Houston Rockets: William Howard
- A two-way player, Howard recently reached a two-year deal with ASVEL Basket in France, so it makes sense that he won’t be playing for the Rockets this summer.
- Los Angeles Clippers: Johnathan Motley, Mfiondu Kabengele
- As previously reported, Motley and Kabengele didn’t travel to Orlando with the Clippers and won’t be playing this summer.
- Milwaukee Bucks: Cameron Reynolds
- The Bucks only brought one of their two-way players (Frank Mason III), as Reynolds doesn’t show up on their official roster. The reason for his absence is unclear.
- New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Gray
- Darius Miller also isn’t listed on the Pelicans’ roster, but he’s injured, so it appears that Gray – a two-way player – is the player being replaced by Sindarius Thornwell, who was signed as a substitute player earlier this month. That would mean that Gray was one of three Pelicans players who contracted COVID-19 in June.
- Philadelphia 76ers: Ryan Broekhoff
- Broekhoff was signed as a substitute player to fill the Sixers’ open two-way slot, but later announced that he hadn’t traveled to Orlando because his wife, who is “high risk,” tested positive for COVID-19. Based on his omission from Philadelphia’s roster, it appears that Broekhoff won’t be joining the club after all.
- Phoenix Suns: Tariq Owens
- The Suns left one of their two-way slots open and apparently didn’t bring their lone two-way player to Orlando. The reason for Owens’ absence is unclear.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Moses Brown
- Despite only having 13 players available in Orlando, the Trail Blazers won’t have Brown – their second two-way player – with them. The reason for his absence is unclear.
- Washington Wizards: Gary Payton II
- Like the Pelicans, the Wizards signed a substitute player (Jarrod Uthoff) without announcing who he’d be replacing. It appears that player is Payton, who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Zero Positive COVID-19 Tests In Last Week Among 346 Players On NBA Campus
The NBA’s Walt Disney World restart is going according to plan so far, with Shams Charania of The Athletic passing along a promising piece of good news for the league.
According to Charania (Twitter link), none of the 346 players at the Disney campus who have been tested since the NBA’s last coronavirus update on July 13 have been positive for COVID-19. The league has since issued a press release confirming Charania’s report.
When the NBA sent out its coronavirus update last Monday, the league indicated that two players had tested positive for COVID-19 at the Disney campus, but both players did so while quarantined, significantly limiting the possibility of an outbreak.
The fact that Disney staffers are coming and going from the NBA’s campus has also been a cause for some concern, but those employees are keeping their distance from players and other league and team personnel. So far, it seems as if the NBA’s protocols are working and the so-called Disney “bubble” is intact, which bodes well for the resumption and completion of the 2019/20 season.
McMillan Expects Oladipo To Play In Pacers’ Scrimmages
The Pacers will participate in their first inter-squad scrimmage this Thursday, and head coach Nate McMillan told reporters today that he expects star guard Victor Oladipo to play in that game — and in the rest of Indiana’s scrimmages.
“I do,” McMillan said. “He’s going through the practices and he’s looking good. Our first scrimmage is Thursday and we’ll see how our guys feel and get them minutes accordingly.”
Oladipo has wavered in recent weeks on whether or not he’ll participate in the NBA’s restart this summer. After initially ruling himself out for the summer in early July, Oladipo changed course, telling reporters last week that there’s a “strong possibility” he’ll play if his body continues to respond well to workouts.
McMillan’s comments today don’t mean that anything is set in stone regarding Oladipo’s availability for the team’s upcoming scrimmages, seeding games, or playoff contests. However, for now, it still seems as if we’re trending in the direction of seeing the two-time All-Star play this summer.
In other Pacers news, McMillan said today that Domantas Sabonis, Goga Bitadze, and JaKarr Sampson are dealing with what he referred to as soft-tissue injuries, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Sabonis has had a plantar fasciitis flare-up and is unlikely to play in Thursday’s scrimmage, tweets J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star.