Injury Notes: Giannis, Morant, Hart, Randle, Payne
After previously stating that X-rays on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s back injury came back negative, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said on Monday that an MRI also came back clean, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
The Bucks haven’t made any official announcements yet about Antetokounmpo’s availability for Game 2 on Wednesday, but Budenholzer told reporters on Monday that the superstar forward was making progress despite still being sore.
“He’s getting some treatment and I think we’ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two,” Budenholzer said. “Probably fortunate that there are two days between games, so I think still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we’ll see how he feels over the next day or two.”
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- The status of Grizzlies star Ja Morant for Wednesday’s game vs. the Lakers remains up in the air due to his hand injury. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on NBA Today on Monday (Twitter video link) that there’s “significant doubt” about Morant’s ability to play in Game 2. Shams Charania of The Athletic hears that tests on Morant’s hand revealed no breaks and that his availability could end up being a question of pain tolerance. The All-Star guard referred to his pain level on Sunday as a 10 out of 10.
- One day after listing Josh Hart as doubtful for Game 2 due to a left ankle sprain, the Knicks have upgraded him to questionable (Twitter link). Knicks forward Julius Randle also provided a positive update on his own ankle sprain, telling reporters that he’s feeling no ill effects after playing in Game 1, though he admitted that his conditioning isn’t yet where he wants it to be (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN).
- Suns guard Cameron Payne, who was limited to 48 games this season due to injuries and didn’t play in Game 1 on Sunday, has been listed as questionable for Tuesday’s Game 2 due to low back soreness, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Pistons To Interview Jerome Allen For Head Coaching Job
The Pistons will interview veteran assistant Jerome Allen for their head coaching vacancy, reports Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The meeting will take place at some point this week.
A former player who was drafted by the Timberwolves in 1995, Allen transitioned into coaching in 2009 after a long professional career that saw him play in France, Turkey, Italy, Spain, and Greece in addition to the NBA. He was a member of Dwane Casey‘s coaching staff in Detroit for each of the past two seasons.
Allen, whose coaching career began with the Penn Quakers from 2009-15, served as an assistant in Boston under Brad Stevens from 2015-21 and left the Celtics for the Pistons when Stevens transitioned to a front office position. Casey is now making that same transition in Detroit, though it sounds like his role will be far less hands-on and high-ranking than Stevens’ in Boston.
Allen has received some NBA head coaching interest in recent years, having reportedly interviewed with the Jazz in 2022 and the Celtics and Trail Blazers in 2021.
The Pistons’ list of interviewees is now up to eight reported names — two of them, Allen and Rex Kalamian, were assistants on Casey’s staff.
Bulls’ Derrick Jones Plans To Pick Up 2023/24 Player Option
Bulls forward Derrick Jones doesn’t have to officially make a decision on his player option for the 2023/24 season until June, but he tells K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago that he’s “for sure” planning to exercise that option.
Jones signed a two-year, $6.56MM contract with Chicago last summer that includes an opt-out decision after year one. If he opts in, he’d earn a guaranteed $3.36MM salary in ’23/24.
“Like I told coach (Billy Donovan) and everybody else, I’m locked in for two years. I didn’t sign for two years for no reason. So I’m here for two years,” Jones said. “I just gotta sit down with my agent and talk to him, figure things out. But I don’t see why not. I got no other plans, yet.”
Jones, 26, appeared in 64 games for the Bulls this past season, averaging 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds and shooting .500/.338/.738 in 14.0 minutes per night. With the exception of his three-point percentage, those numbers were all down from the ones he posted during his first year in Chicago in 2021/22. However, he continues to enjoy his time with the organization.
“I just love being with these guys,” Jones told Johnson. “I know my role isn’t always what I want it to be. I’ve been through a few injuries that might’ve set me back a little bit. I feel like a healthy DJ for all 82 is very special. But I feel like I’ve played well when given minutes. I’ve done everything I can do with the role that I was given. Sometimes, I need to be a little more aggressive offensively. But defensively, I just do what I do.”
Given his modest role and production in 2022/23, Jones might only be in line for a minimum-salary contract, which would be worth a projected $2,669,586, if he opts for free agency. Picking up the option would give him a little more financial security, whether or not he’s in the Bulls’ plans going forward (his expiring deal could make him a trade candidate). Still, he believes he’s capable of showing more than he has so far in Chicago, particularly on the defensive end.
“I just love guarding,” Jones said. “That’s one thing I learned in my career: Defense wins championships. I want to be All-Defensive team one day. I feel like I could do it. I just need the right opportunity and proper amount of minutes.”
Jones isn’t the only Bull with a $3.36MM player option for 2023/24. As our list of free agents by team shows, veteran center Andre Drummond will have to make a decision on an identical option.
And-Ones: Pate, Ignite, Awards, Combine, Players’ MVP Pick
Dink Pate, a 6’8″ point guard and a five-star recruit, has signed with the G League Ignite, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Having just turned 17 in March, Pate will be the youngest known professional basketball player in U.S. history, according to Givony, who notes that the youngster won’t be draft-eligible until 2025. That means he’s committing to spending two seasons with the Ignite, like Scoot Henderson did from 2021-23.
According to Pate, he considered the possibility of committing to a college program and was leaning toward Alabama over Arkansas, but believes he’ll have a better opportunity to continue developing his game with the Ignite.
After graduating high school a year early, Pate intends to move to Las Vegas later this month and begin training at the Ignite’s practice facility with new teammates Matas Buzelis and London Johnson, per Givony. Buzelis is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, while Johnson currently projects to be a first-rounder.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- After naming Jaren Jackson Jr. the Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, the NBA will announce another major postseason award winner for each of the next three evenings (Twitter link). Newly added award Clutch Player of the Year is due up on Tuesday, followed by Coach of the Year on Wednesday and Sixth Man of the Year on Thursday.
- According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links), the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it mandatory for prospects who receive an invite to the draft combine to attend and do what’s required of them there (that will likely include medical testing but not scrimmages). A player who declines a combine invite without an excused absence won’t be draft-eligible until the following year, says Pincus.
- The Athletic’s NBA writers polled 108 current NBA players on a series of NBA-related questions, including their MVP pick, their title prediction, and much more. Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have compiled the results, which include Sixers star Joel Embiid (50% of the vote) comfortably beating out Nikola Jokic (25.5%) as the players’ MVP choice; Hawks guard Trae Young getting the most votes (14.5%) for the NBA’s most overrated player; and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday earning the nod as both the best individual defender (28.7%) and most underrated player (17.5%).
Sabonis’ X-Rays Negative Following Draymond Stomp, Ejection
With just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter of Game 2 in the Kings/Warriors series on Monday, Draymond Green was assessed with a flagrant foul 2 and was ejected from the game for stomping on Domantas Sabonis‘ chest after the two players got tangled up following a missed Sacramento shot (NBA.com video link).
Sabonis fell to the ground while battling for rebounding position and appeared to grab Green’s leg as he went down. The Kings center was given a technical foul for the play, but remained in the game, which Sacramento won to take a 2-0 series lead.
Sabonis underwent X-rays on his sternum after the game, which came back negative, so he appears to have avoided any major injuries, though he’ll undergo more tests on Tuesday as a precaution, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski.
“When I fell, I was protecting myself, and then the incident happened,” Sabonis said. “There is no room for that in our game today.”
For his part, Green told reporters that having his leg held by Sabonis made it impossible not to come down on the Kings All-Star.
“My leg got grabbed — the second time in two nights — and the referee is just watching,” Green said, per ESPN. “I got to land my foot somewhere, and I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far. … I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away … I guess ankle grabbing is OK.”
A source tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link) that Green also requested an X-ray after Game 2 after feeling soreness in his right ankle.
According to Spears, Green believes he hurt his ankle when he got grabbed by Sabonis, though he showed no ill effects in the immediate aftermath of the play as he stood on a chair while the call was being reviewed and egged on Kings fans, who were chanting “Draymond sucks” (Twitter video link via Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento).
The NBA figures to take a closer look at the fourth-quarter sequence to determine whether any additional punishment – such as a fine or suspension – is warranted. Kings coach Mike Brown said on Monday night that he was “curious” about the outcome of that review, as Andrews notes in ESPN’s story.
Knicks Notes: Hart, Randle, Bench Points, Grimes
Josh Hart is listed as doubtful to play in Game 2 of the Knicks’ series against the Cavaliers on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Hart sprained his left ankle during the Knicks’ Game 1 victory on Saturday.
Hart was able to participate in Monday’s practice on a limited basis, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. However, he mainly got treatment on his ankle during practice, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link).
“Just get treatment again tomorrow, see where he is,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The injury occurred when Hart landed on Julius Randle‘s foot in the fourth quarter.
We have more from the Knicks:
- Re-signing Hart should be a high priority this offseason, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. Hart is expected to decline his $12.96MM option this summer in order to become an unrestricted free agent. Vaccaro believes that something a bit north of the four-year, $60MM contract the Knicks gave Mitchell Robinson last summer should get the job done.
- Randle gave the Knicks a huge lift after returning from a left ankle sprain suffered in late March, Begley notes. He had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals while playing 34 minutes. “Julius played in 77 games until he sprained his ankle. He practiced every day. What you see in the games, what you see in practice — (you know you’re) gonna get whatever he has,” Thibodeau said.
- Immanuel Quickley had a rough outing on Saturday, yet the Knicks’ reserves still outscored Cleveland’s second unit 37-14, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. “It’s been huge for us all season,” starter RJ Barrett said of the reserves. Naturally, the bench will be weakened if Hart (17 points, 10 rebounds) can’t go.
- Quentin Grimes is prepared to take on a bigger role if Hart is sidelined, he told Steve Popper of Newsday. “I don’t think it’s really any more pressure,” Grimes said. “I feel like I’ve been guarding the best player from the other team the whole season. So I feel like it’s just another night, just the stakes are a little bit higher. I’m just going to come in a little sharper probably just knowing that if he doesn’t play, I just have to be more alert at all times whenever (Donovan Mitchell) is on the court.”
Western Notes: Lindsey, Udoka, Borrego, Westbrook, Holmgren, Blazers, Towns
The Mavericks are in advanced discussions with former Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey to join the organization as a special assistant to GM Nico Harrison, Marc Stein of the Stein Line reports (via Twitter). Harrison has been seeking an experienced sounding-board voice to join the front office in a consultant’s role, dating to last offseason.
Following their failure to make the playoffs, the Mavericks have a pivotal offseason that includes trying to re-sign Kyrie Irving and finding ways to improve the roster, despite limited trade assets and salary cap issues.
We have more on the Western Conference:
- The Rockets will interview former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka for their head coaching job on Wednesday, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets. They interviewed former Hornets head coach James Borrego on Monday for their head coaching job, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. The Rockets have already interviewed former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and are expected to interview a number of experienced head coaches and prominent assistant coaches in their search to replace Stephen Silas.
- Russell Westbrook is unlikely to be suspended for Game 2 of the Clippers’ series against the Suns, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets. Westbrook had a verbal altercation with a fan during halftime of Game 1 on Sunday.
- Chet Holmgren missed the entire season due to a Lisfranc injury in his right foot but the Thunder big man is ready to get back on the court, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, says most of the recovery and rehab process is behind him. “I’m pretty much past the rehab part of this journey,” Holmgren said, “and now I’m progressing more into the 5-on-5 stuff and kind of taking away any restrictions that I have to this point.”
- There could be a major change with the Trail Blazers’ guard rotation, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian notes. General manager Joe Cronin must decide whether Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe are part of the team’s long-term plans. Either or both could be traded for the All-Star level talent that Damian Lillard craves. Conversely, Simons and Sharpe could be the backcourt starters if Lillard is dealt and Portland goes into a full rebuild.
- The Timberwolves will look to bounce back from their 29-point loss to top seed Denver when they play Game 2 on Wednesday. They’ll need a huge series from Karl-Anthony Towns to have any chance in the series, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details.
- The matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets could show just how far the Timberwolves are from becoming a true contender and whether the Towns-Rudy Gobert pairing can get them to that point, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines.
More Details On New CBA
Several interesting details for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and the NBPA have emerged on Monday.
Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that players on two-way contracts will have the ability to negotiate with teams to guarantee half of their salaries on the first day of the regular season. Currently, two-way players are on mostly non-guaranteed contracts worth half the minimum salary — a little over $500K for a rookie.
According to Charania, players who sign Exhibit 10 training camp deals will be getting a significant increase in bonus pay. Those players are currently eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if they’re waived before the regular season starts and spend at least 60 days with a team’s G League affiliate — in the new CBA, that bonus is worth $75K. As Charania notes, that change will impact roughly 60% of players in the NBA G League.
Charania provides additional context (Twitter links) to a few previously reported items as well. The room mid-level exception, which is increasing in value by 30% beyond its standard rise, will now cover three years instead of two.
The contract value of the new second-round pick exception can be worth up to the equivalent of the minimum for a third-year player — that would be $1,836,090 for 2022/23, whereas a rookie minimum is worth $1,017,781. The new exception can be used to sign contracts that cover up to four years.
[RELATED: Running List Of Changes In NBA’s New Collective Bargaining Agreement]
Finally, for players to be eligible for end-of-season awards, it was previously reported that they would have to log at least 20 minutes in at least 63 games for them to count toward the minimum of 65 games played. They would be permitted to play between 15-20 minutes in two games and still have them count toward the minimum of 65. According to Charania, there are also protections against season-ending injuries (62-game minimum instead of 65), and unspecified “bad faith circumstances.”
Here are some more CBA updates:
- Starting in 2024/25, teams below the salary cap floor — currently 90% of the cap — on the first day of the regular season will not receive a tax distribution from the league’s taxpaying teams, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). This is a pretty huge change, as it is penalizing teams with excess cap room, not just taxpayers. The Spurs and Pacers would have missed out on an estimated $15.2MM tax distribution payment this season if the new rule had been in effect, Marks notes.
- In the current CBA, if a player declines a player option in conjunction with a new contract extension, the first year of an extension has to at least match the declined option. For example, Bogdan Bogdanovic signed a four-year extension and the first year was required to match his declined $18MM option for 2023/24. However, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link) that players will be able to decline their options and sign extensions starting with a first-year value below the declined option in the new CBA, giving both teams and players a little more negotiating flexibility.
- In a current simultaneous trade, a taxpaying team can take back 125% of the outgoing salary, plus $100K. Starting in 2023/24, that will be reduced to 110% for teams over either the first or the second tax apron, and in ’24/25, that will be cut back to 100%, Marks tweets. As an example, the Kevin Durant trade from February would not have been permitted under the new changes.
- It was previously reported that teams over the second tax apron would be unable to trade their first-round pick seven years in the future. According to Tim Bontemps and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), if those teams continue to exceed the second apron twice in the following four years, their draft pick will fall to the end of the first round. However, if the teams are under the second apron in three of the next four years, the first-round pick becomes “unfrozen” and able to be traded, sources tell Bontemps and Marks. The rule will start in ’24/25, Bontemps adds.
- The new in-season tournament, which will award $500K to players on the winning team, will also include prize money for players on teams that make the quarterfinals ($50K per player on losing teams), semifinals ($100K per player on losing teams), and lose in the finals ($200K per player), report Wojnarowski and Marks (Twitter link).
- Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom hears there will be a limit on how many players on minimum contracts can be aggregated in trades, though he doesn’t specify details (Twitter links). Pincus adds that the change will only apply to the offseason and before most free agents become trade-eligible on December 15.
Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Poole, Kuminga, Adjustments
Andrew Wiggins is humbled by the patience the Warriors’ organization showed while he attended to a family matter over the past two months, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Wiggins, whose four-year extension kicks in next season, returned to action in Game 1 of the first-round series with the Kings.
“In this organization, I feel like I’ve been blessed, just being here and all that time they gave me off to be with my family,” Wiggins said. “They didn’t have to do that, and they did it. And they didn’t rush me back. It was my decision to come back, so I just feel like that just says a lot about this organization. From my heart, I can say everyone here cares. This whole organization cares. There still can be a lot of good people out there. I’ll never forget that. A lot of teams aren’t doing that, so I’m forever grateful.”
We have more on the Warriors:
- Jordan Poole is listed as questionable for Game 2 on Monday night with a left ankle sprain. He twisted it late in the third quarter of Game 1, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets. He had 17 points in 22 minutes in the series opener.
- Coach Steve Kerr issued a challenge to forward Jonathan Kuminga for Game 2 and beyond — hit the glass much harder. “I’d like to see him rebound,” Kerr told Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area and other media members. “He didn’t have a rebound (Saturday) night, and that’s got to be a focal point for him — and for our whole team. We keep talking about everything, but it still comes back to rebounds. But I thought JK did a really nice job in a lot of ways, and he can get better.”
- What kind of adjustments will they make in order to avoid an 0-2 predicament? Tim Kawakami of The Athletic anticipates Stephen Curry playing more than the 37 minutes he logged in Game 1 and Gary Payton II being deployed as the main defender against Malik Monk, among other tweaks.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Named Defensive Player Of Year
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has been named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, the NBA on TNT tweets. Jackson received 56 of the 100 first-place votes, according to an NBA press release.
The Bucks’ Brook Lopez and Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley were the other finalists. Lopez was the runner-up, notching 31 first-place votes while Mobley received eight. Draymond Green (3) and Bam Adebayo (1) also received first-place votes and finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Joel Embiid claimed the final first-place vote, though the Sixers star finished ninth overall, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, OG Anunoby, and Jrue Holiday. Nic Claxton, Alex Caruso, and Jimmy Butler also appeared on at least one ballot.
Jackson led the NBA in blocks per game (3.0) and also averaged one steal in 63 regular-season appearances for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed. He had a career-best 2.0 Defensive Box Plus/Minus rating and a 3.8 Defensive Win Shares rating, ranking him among the top 10 in the league in both categories.
Lopez averaged a career-high 2.5 blocks while serving as the defensive anchor for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. His total of 193 blocks in 78 games led the league during the regular season.
Mobley averaged 1.5 blocks per game and, along with Jarrett Allen, anchored a defense that limited opponents to a NBA-low 106.9 points per game.
The Celtics’ Marcus Smart scored a rare victory for a guard when he won the award last season. Rudy Gobert won it as a member of the Jazz three of the previous four years. Antetokounmpo won it during the pandemic-shortened 2019/20 season.
Among active players, Green (2016/17 season) and Kawhi Leonard (2014/15 and 2015/16) have also earned the honor.