James Wiseman Suspended 11 More Games
NBA teams will get about half a season to watch James Wiseman in college before deciding if he’s worthy of the No. 1 pick. The NCAA has announced that the Memphis center will be suspended for 11 additional games, making him eligible to return for a January 12 contest at South Florida.
Memphis plans to appeal the suspension, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
The punishment, which brings his suspension to 12 total games, was imposed “based on recruiting inducements his family received before he enrolled at Memphis and for competing in three games while he was ineligible,” the NCAA stated in its release.
Wiseman will also be required to make an $11,500 donation “to a charity of his choice,” tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. That’s the amount that Wiseman’s family received in moving expenses from Tigers coach Penny Hardaway to relocate to Memphis in 2017.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN notes that Wiseman will still have 16 regular season games – plus the AAC Tournament and probably the NCAA Tournament – to show scouts what he can do (Twitter link). Givony listed Wiseman as the top pick in ESPN’s mock draft earlier this month.
Wiseman was ruled ineligible on November 8, but was granted an “emergency temporary restraining order” and played that night against UIC. He has appeared in three games, averaging 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per night.
Andrew Bogut Open To NBA Return After NBL Season
After finishing the 2018/19 season with the Warriors, veteran center Andrew Bogut returned to Australia to rejoin the Sydney Kings. However, with his Kings contract set to expire in the spring, Bogut is open to the idea of returning to the NBA after Australia’s National Basketball League season ends, like he did last season.
“The NBA? Yeah, possibly,” Bogut told RSN radio this week, per Ronny Lerner of The Sydney Morning Herald. “I doubt the Warriors will come calling because I think they’re going to go, obviously, full rebuild mode. But I think it’s definitely feasible if it’s the right situation, but I won’t go back just for the sake of going back.”
Last season, the Kings allowed Bogut to play in the NBA while he was still technically under contract with the Australian club. He joined the Warriors in mid-March, then headed back to Sydney to complete the second year of his two-year contract. Once the 2019/20 NBL season is over and his Kings contract is up, Bogut should have a clearer path to joining an NBA team.
With the Warriors no longer a viable option, the former No. 1 overall pick will have some specific criteria in mind as he considers whether or not to return stateside.
“An opportunity to try and win a championship will be the main thing in the NBA,” Bogut said. “I wouldn’t go back to the NBA just to play in the NBA, it’s more that [trying to win a title] — and somewhere that I’m kind of familiar with and somewhere where I feel comfortable for the family as well would be the other priority.”
As Lerner relays, Bogut also pointed out that he’ll be gearing up to play for Australia in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo next year, so preparing for those games will be a consideration as he weighs an NBA return.
The big man, who turns 35 next Thursday, played limited minutes in 11 regular season games and 19 playoff contests for Golden State earlier this year. For now, he’s focused on trying to help lead the 9-1 Sydney Kings to an NBL title.
“I’d really like to have an NBL trophy,” Bogut said. “I think that’s kind of what’s driving me to get out there and be competitive and the team’s faring well so we have a good chance to do that.”
Brett Brown Finalizing Deal To Coach Australian National Team
Sixers head coach Brett Brown is in the process of finalizing a deal that would once again make him the head coach of Australia’s national team, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Brown, who has been the Sixers’ coach since the 2013/14 season, previously served as an assistant for the Australian national team from 1995-2003, then took over as the program’s head coach in 2009. He remained in that role through 2012, leading Australia to an appearance in the quarterfinals of the ’12 Olympics in London — the team was eliminated by the United States.
Before he became an assistant for the Spurs in 2002, Brown coached multiple teams in Australia and New Zealand, spending time in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.
Since taking over as the 76ers’ head coach, Brown has amassed a 186-319 (.368) record, though most of those losses were accumulated during the “Process” years as the franchise went through a long rebuild. Since the start of the 2017/18 season, Brown has a 111-66 (.627) regular season record, plus a 12-10 mark in the playoffs.
Brown will be assuming control of an Australian club that has already claimed its spot in the 2020 Olympics as a result of its 2019 World Cup success. Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, and former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut are among the notable players expected to represent Australia in Tokyo next summer.
It will be interesting to see whether Brown’s hiring will influence Ben Simmons‘ Olympic decision. Simmons, who plays for Brown in Philadelphia, opted against joining Australia for the World Cup but could still suit up for the squad in Tokyo.
Trail Blazers Officially Sign Carmelo Anthony
The Trail Blazers have officially signed Carmelo Anthony to his one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who notes that Anthony passed his physical and will wear No. 00 in Portland (Twitter links).
“Carmelo is an established star in this league that will provide a respected presence in our locker room and a skill set at a position of need on the floor,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement formally announcing the signing.
Anthony and the Blazers first reached an agreement last Thursday, but took several days to finalize the deal as the veteran forward took his physical and targeted Tuesday for his potential Portland debut. The Blazers will play in New Orleans tonight before finishing their road trip with stops in Milwaukee (Thursday), Cleveland (Saturday), and Chicago (next Monday).
[RELATED: Inside the Trail Blazers’ signing of Carmelo Anthony]
Anthony, who hasn’t played in an NBA game in over a year, will look to help turn things around for the 5-9 Blazers, who currently rank 12th in the Western Conference after being blown out by the Rockets, Carmelo’s old team, on Monday night. While there’s skepticism that the 35-year-old will help improve Portland’s ailing defense, he can at least give the club some frontcourt scoring, which new forwards like Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja, and Anthony Tolliver have struggled to consistently provide.
Because four weeks of the NBA regular season have already passed, Anthony will earn a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum. If he remains under contract through January 7 and has his salary for 2019/20 fully guaranteed, he’ll earn a total of $2,159,029. His cap hit on Portland’s books will be $1,364,204, though he’ll ultimately cost the team more than that due to added tax penalties.
No corresponding roster move was necessary for the Blazers, since they’d been carrying just 14 players on standard contracts, one below the NBA’s maximum.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockets Release Forward Ryan Anderson
2:04pm: The Rockets have officially waived Anderson, the team’s PR department tweets.
12:30pm: The Rockets will waive forward/center Ryan Anderson, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.
It’s an uninspiring and swift end to Anderson’s second stint with the franchise. He signed a partially guaranteed contract after being waived by Miami under the stretch provision. Anderson received a $500K guarantee on his $2,564,753 salary when he made the opening night roster.
Anderson is still collecting on the four-year, $80MM deal that Houston gave him in the summer of 2016. He spent two years with the team before being traded to Phoenix last August in a salary dump. The Suns shipped him to Miami in February and he was waived in July.
Anderson played just 14 minutes this season and remained glued to the bench despite the team being shorthanded last week due to injuries, including a concussion suffered by starting center Clint Capela.
Waiters Calls Suspension “A Minor Setback”
Dion Waiters couldn’t be with the Heat last night because he’s in the middle of a 10-game suspension, so he traveled to Syracuse to watch the Orange and get some advice from his college coach, writes Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com.
“I just wanted to come up and talk to coach (Jim Boeheim),” Waiters said in his first public comments since the season began. “I know that’s a person who will always be there for me if I ever need anything. It’s a chance for me to come up, be around, talk to the coaches, things like that. And that’s important.”
It’s been a troubled season already for Waiters, who was also suspended for opening night after clashing with Miami coach Erik Spoelstra in a preseason argument about playing time. Waiters has only been active for two games and hasn’t taken the court at all.
The emergence of rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro has made Waiters expendable in an already crowded backcourt. The Heat have reportedly tried to work out a trade, but haven’t found any interest in Waiters, who is making $12.1MM this year and is under contract for 2020/21 at $12.65MM.
In his conversation with Ditota, Waiters refused to discuss the specifics of what happened on the team flight, but insisted he’s still “in a great place” mentally.
“I can only control what I can control at the end of the day, so some things you just can’t allow to take your head the other way, some things happen for a reason,” he said. “If you stay locked in, if you believe and trust in yourself, trust in the work you put in, you know, it’s a minor setback. It happens. It’s life. You learn from it. The only thing I can do is move forward. Stay focused. Stay even-keeled. Let everything else take care of itself.”
“New Shoulders” Help Paul George Set Clippers Records
Two games into his Clippers career, Paul George is putting up record-setting numbers and confirming the high expectations that have surrounded the team since July, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Making his home debut with the franchise last night, George scored 37 points in 20 minutes in a rout of the Hawks. Afterward, he credited a pair of offseason surgeries that fixed his damaged shoulders.
“I got [a] new shoulder,” George said. “I can’t say nothing else to that: I got new shoulders. And they haven’t been this healthy in a long time.”
George went under the knife in May shortly after the Thunder were eliminated from the playoffs, as doctors fixed a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder. A second operation a month later repaired a partial tear in his left labrum. The Clippers have brought him along slowly since acquiring him in a July trade that sealed Kawhi Leonard‘s decision to join the organization. George didn’t take the court until Thursday, but quickly showed he was worth the wait.
He scored 33 points at New Orleans, giving him 70 in a combined 44 minutes. That’s the highest total for any player in his first two games with the Clippers, and last night’s 37-point performance is the most by anyone making his Clippers home debut. George believes he could have done more if he weren’t on a minutes limit.
“It could have been my first 50(-point game),” he told reporters. “That’s just how I felt, but … I’m a confident player. It wasn’t more so a confidence (thing) by me saying I’m back. It’s just a statement. I’m just happy to be back to this game.”
George still hasn’t played alongside Leonard, who has turned in several impressive performances while his fellow star was recuperating. Leonard sat out the past two games with a left knee contusion, which coach Doc Rivers called a day-to-day issue. The league might get its first look at the new tandem tomorrow night when L.A. hosts Oklahoma City.
Inside The Trail Blazers’ Signing Of Carmelo Anthony
The Trail Blazers have been interested in Carmelo Anthony for years and both parties reached the point where they needed each other, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who provides an inside look at the events that led to this week’s signing.
Portland general manager Neil Olshey conveyed that sentiment during a phone call with Anthony, Woj relays. The 10-time All-Star had been out of the league for a year and hadn’t gotten offers from any other teams. The Blazers are severely shorthanded in the frontcourt and needed to find someone who can contribute right away.
Portland’s 5-8 start can be at least partially attributed to the losses of Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins and Pau Gasol. Nurkic is still recovering after fracturing his leg late last season. Collins recently had shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until March. Gasol, an offseason addition, is rehabilitating a stress fracture in his left foot that he suffered in the spring.
Olshey sees Anthony as someone who can provide scoring punch and command respect in the locker room. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have been proponents of adding Anthony, and McCollum worked out with him in New York over the summer. Olshey took the recommendations to heart and remained in touch with Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose of CAA Sports. The GM was interested in adding Anthony, but only if he had regular playing time to offer.
Talks got more serious this week as the need for another front court scorer became obvious. Olshey discussed the topic frequently with coach Terry Stotts and it was agreed that a non-guaranteed contract was the best option. Anthony will have a chance to prove his worth before contracts throughout the league become fully guaranteed in early January.
Wojnarowski notes that Anthony has contributed to his time as an outcast. He still viewed himself as a star when he was traded to the Thunder two years ago and wasn’t willing to accept the role that management asked. In Houston last year, a tense history with coach Mike D’Antoni prompted the Rockets to cut ties after a slow start.
Anthony may be looking at his last chance in Portland, but at least it’s off to a positive start. Olshey has a long history with Anthony and was encouraged by what he heard during their phone call, which was that Anthony still cares about winning and isn’t just looking for an NBA farewell tour. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Anthony had a physical today and could be playing by Tuesday, so we should know soon how much he has left to offer.
Jamal Crawford “Baffled” By Lack Of Opportunity
Does anyone need a three-time Sixth Man of the Year who’s still capable of a 50-point night? Jamal Crawford tells Shaun Powell of NBA.com that he’s working out in Seattle and trying to be ready in case an NBA team comes calling.
At age 39, Crawford isn’t ready to retire, not after putting up 51 points in the final game of last season. That capped off an uneven year in Phoenix where Crawford seemed out of place as a veteran on a rebuilding team. He averaged just 18.9 minutes per night and scored 7.9 PPG, the lowest since his rookie season in 2000/01.
Crawford watched two other veteran free agents get back in the league this week as Brooklyn signed Iman Shumpert and Portland reached a deal with Carmelo Anthony. Crawford tweeted messages of support for both players and hopes he’ll be next in line for an opportunity.
“I know I can play,” he said, “and I would think my reputation is still solid. It’s baffling to me.”
Crawford started last season as part of a group of veteran leaders in Phoenix. However, by mid-December, the Suns had traded Trevor Ariza and bought out Tyson Chandler, leaving Crawford alone in that role. He also played most of the year out of position, spending time at point guard where the Suns were desperate for help, rather than his natural position of shooting guard.
Still he had bursts of productivity that suggest he could still fill a role on an NBA roster. The 51-point night wasn’t a fluke, as he scored 19, 28 and 27 points in the three prior games.
“I’m kind of an outlier because you don’t see anyone my age having games like that,” Crawford said. “And I did it off the bench. A year earlier, in my 18th year, I was still averaging double figures. I can bring a multitude of things. I’ll be ready for whatever team decides how I can fit into what they’re trying to do.”
Summer was quiet for Crawford as the Suns moved in a different direction, and he didn’t receive even a text message from anyone during July’s free agency sweepstakes. He’s part of a large group of over-30 players still on the open market and notes that many teams take a “wait and see approach” with athletes once they reach a certain age.
Crawford understands that there are a limited number of roster spots available, but he hasn’t lost the belief that he belongs in the NBA. He plans to be ready if the chance arises.
“Physically, I feel better than I did last season,” he said. “I’m able to get my body together. My skill set is sharp. I feel that I’m good. My mindset is be patient and hopefully something good comes about it. I’ll be ready for the opportunity.”
LeBron James Wants To Play Until He “Can’t Walk No More”
LeBron James may have moved to Los Angeles to pursue other career opportunities but he’s not leaving the court any time soon, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.
James, who entered the NBA out of high school in 2003, told reporters on Friday that retirement is one of the further things from his mind.
“As long as I feel great and as long as I can still play at a high level and mentally I’m sharp and I’m there and I’m giving everything to the game and nothing can distract me from what the main objective is, I’ll probably play this game,” he said. “When I physically can’t play or mentally I’m a little checked out or I’m not approaching the game like I’ve always done in my whole career since I picked up a basketball, then you can start looking at (the end) that way.”
James, who will turn 35 next month, suffered the first significant injury of his career last Christmas. He injured his groin and missed more than a month of action while the Lakers slid out of the playoff race. He wound up playing a career-low 55 games in his first year with the Lakers.
He’s looked just fine this season with Anthony Davis joining forces with him. In 11 games, he’s averaged 23.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG and a career-high 11.1 APG.
James has played 1,209 regular-season and 239 postseason games. Among regular-season appearances, James is already in the top 50 for most games played in a career. He’s in the top 15 all-time in minutes played.
However, when he looks to the future, he projects his career to follow the same trajectory as the most successful NFL quarterback of all time.
“Me and Tom Brady are one in the same: We’re gonna play until we can’t walk no more,” he said.