Mavs Notes: Elimination, Draft Pick, Luka, THJ, Kyrie
Entering the day on Friday, the Mavericks could still have secured a play-in spot if they’d won their last two games of the season and the Thunder lost to Memphis on Sunday. However, Dallas essentially decided to throw in the towel on its chase for a postseason berth, sitting a number of regulars (including Kyrie Irving) and limiting Luka Doncic to essentially a quarter of action.
Unsurprisingly, the Mavericks did indeed lose their game to Chicago, officially eliminating them from the play-in hunt. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters before the game that the decision was made by team owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.
“We were fighting for our lives, and understanding this is a situation we’re in, but the organization has made the decision to change,” Kidd said. “So, you know, we have to go by that and that’s something that happens. So the guys that are playing, we got to go out there and put our best foot forward, and we talked about that this afternoon.”
Speaking after the game, Kidd said that the move was less about “waving the white flag” and more about prioritizing the future.
“It’s decisions sometimes are hard in this business,” he said, per MacMahon. “We’re trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward.”
Asked if he agreed with the decision to prioritize the future instead of the present by sitting players on Friday, Kidd replied, “Those are my bosses, so yes.”
Kidd confirmed after Friday’s loss that Doncic and Irving definitely won’t be playing in Sunday’s regular season finale, with other regulars likely to join them on the sidelines (Twitter link via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News).
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- As Tim Cato of The Athletic observes, one more loss on Sunday would ensure that the Mavericks finish with sole control of the NBA’s 10th-worst record. That would give them approximately an 80% chance of hanging onto the top-10 protected first-round pick they owe the Knicks — there would be about a 20% chance of a team near the bottom of the lottery standings leapfrogging them and pushing them out of the top 10, in which case they’d have to send the pick to New York.
- Within a separate ESPN.com story about what’s next in Dallas, MacMahon says there’s a “strong sense of urgency” to expedite the process of building a contender around Doncic. Team sources have admitted there’s concern that Luka could request a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn’t take a significant step forward by then, MacMahon reports.
- Appearing on The Carton Show on FS1 (Twitter video link), Tim Hardaway Sr. said that Doncic and Irving aren’t leaders, and referred to Doncic as a “crybaby” due to his frequent in-game complaints to referees. As Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News writes, Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. asked to speak to reporters in order to distance himself from those comments. “I disagree with it 1000%,” the younger Hardaway said, stressing that his views both Doncic and Irving as good leaders. “… It’s disappointing that I have to come out here and say (this). I love him to death, like I said, my dad. He made a mistake. It’s his opinion, not mine. We’re two different human beings, so that’s really all I can say.”
- In the most recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps, and MacMahon discussed Irving’s upcoming free agency, debating whether or not Kyrie holds most of the leverage as he enters free agency (hat tip to RealGM). MacMahon and Bontemps believe Irving is in a good position to command a long-term maximum-salary deal from the Mavs, while Windhorst questioned whether there are any teams that will have the cap flexibility and the desire to make a play for Kyrie and put pressure on Dallas.
Nets’ Cameron Johnson Meets Starter Criteria
Nets forward Cameron Johnson started his 41st game of the season on Friday vs. Orlando and has now met the “starter criteria” ahead of his restricted free agency.
As we outlined earlier in the week when Grant Williams achieved the same feat, a player is considered to have met the starter criteria when he starts at least 41 games or plays at least 2,000 minutes in the season before he becomes eligible for restricted free agency (or if he averages 41 starts or 2,000 minutes in the two seasons leading up to his free agency).
Johnson was primarily a reserve last season in Phoenix and then missed most of the first half of this season due to a torn meniscus, so it looked for a while as if he’d fall short of reaching the criteria. However, he started 16 of 17 games as a Sun this season and has started all 25 games he has played as a Net.
Johnson’s qualifying offer this summer will now be worth $8,486,620 instead of $7,744,600. That new figure is the equivalent of what the No. 9 pick in his draft class would receive.
Johnson’s new QO likely won’t have any real impact on his free agency, since the one-year offer will serve as a placeholder until he signs a multiyear contract with the Nets or another team. He reportedly turned down a four-year, $66MM extension offer from Phoenix last fall, so he’ll presumably be seeking a deal even more lucrative than that as a free agent.
Included as part of Brooklyn’s haul in February’s Kevin Durant blockbuster, Johnson has averaged a career-best 16.6 points per game since joining the Nets. He’s also contributing 4.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.4 SPG with a .468/.372/.851 shooting line in 30.8 minutes per night since the trade.
Johnson will be the last of 2023’s potential restricted free agents to meet the starter criteria, joining Williams, P.J. Washington, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Herbert Jones (Jones will have his team option picked up rather than reaching free agency, and Martin may be in that boat too). No other RFAs-to-be started 41 games or logged 2,000 minutes this season.
Injury Notes: Zion, J. Brown, Middleton, Schröder, Biyombo
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin announced on Thursday that Zion Williamson would remain out indefinitely as he continues to deal with a right hamstring strain that has kept him sidelined since January 2.
According to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, Griffin clarified on Friday that Williamson will not suit up for the play-in tournament, and he might miss a potential first-round playoff series as well.
“I would just say that if you looked at the logistics of where we are at, it’s not possible to get the work in that would put him in a 5-on-5 workout in time for any play-in,” Griffin said. “Based on today, our best possible outcome would be if everything lined up perfectly, maybe you’re in a position to practice prior to a first round. Or maybe during a first round. But it’s going to take more than one, right? It’s really hard. We may never get to that point, either. If it’s not a situation where those things align and he feels the way he needs to feel, we’re not going to let him go to the next phase.”
Williamson had a setback in February, which delayed his return to the court. Griffin said the All-Star forward hasn’t experienced another setback since then, but he lacks confidence in the hamstring.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown cut his right hand and had to get five stitches as he was picking up a glass vase he broke while watering his plants on Thursday night, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Brown expects to be ready for the playoffs, Weiss adds.
- Bucks forward Khris Middleton had an MRI on Thursday after he aggravated a right knee injury, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Nothing showed up on the imaging and Middleton is expected to rehab for the next week “in hopes of being ready” for the postseason, according to Charania. While it’s a positive development that the MRI was clean, Charania’s wording suggests it’s no lock that Middleton will be healthy when the playoffs start on April 15.
- Lakers guard Dennis Schröder was ruled out of Friday’s matchup with Phoenix due to “extreme neck soreness” that stemmed from “general wear and tear,” head coach Darvin Ham told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). The team had previously listed Schröder as questionable due to neck spasms.
- Suns center Bismack Biyombo was in a lot of pain and needed assistance to leave the court after taking knee-to-knee contact in Friday’s matchup with the Lakers. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest with a right knee injury, as Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports relays (All Twitter links).
Pacers Notes: Carlisle, Draft, Nembhard, Nesmith, Mathurin
Head coach Rick Carlisle knows that for the Pacers to take a step forward in 2023/24, the team will have to hit on its draft picks. The Pacers control three first-round picks in 2023 — their own, Cleveland’s and Boston’s — as well as a couple second-rounders, though one is still up in the air.
“If you look at the standings this year, this is the most parity we’ve seen in probably a number of decades,” Carlisle told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “So you’ve got to try to create as many situations as you can to get small edges. You’ve got to draft great. You know, our management team drafted (Andrew) Nembhard in the second round, and the guy’s a hell of a player. We’ve got to hit on more guys like that, and we’ve got to do the right things when we have those opportunities.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Carlisle says the Pacers will have to address the two main weaknesses of the roster — defense and rebounding — both internally and externally, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter links). The current players need to improve, but the team will also look to bolster the roster in those areas via the draft, trades and free agency, Carlisle added.
- Rookie guard Nembhard and third-year forward Aaron Nesmith have been bright spots defensively, as they’re frequently tasked with guarding opposing teams’ top perimeter players, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. How can they improve on the less glamorous end of the court? “Both of these guys are so, quite frankly, good defensively,” assistant coach and defensive coordinator Ronald Nored said. “Everybody has areas to improve, but there’s not a lot of area to improve for either one of them. I think both of them are quiet guys, and I think they can both take steps as communicators defensively. … That’s a challenge for both of them. Next season use their voice more.”
- Indiana may have shut down Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, but Bennedict Mathurin has actually seen his role expand as the season winds down and that’s by design, Dopirak writes in another story. “I’m getting used to what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my career,” Mathurin said. “Being a starter is one of my main goals, so it has to start somewhere, but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of challenges as well, so I’m just trying to get used to it.” Carlisle has tasked Mathurin with more challenging defensive assignments and increased his minutes to push last year’s No. 6 overall pick, Dopirak notes.
Top Six, Play-In Tournament Now Set For Eastern Conference
The Eastern Conference’s postseason picture is much clearer after Friday night’s games, though we’ll still have to wait until next week’s play-in tournament to determine who will emerge as the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds.
The top six seeds are now set after Brooklyn defeated Orlando:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Boston Celtics
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New York Knicks
- Brooklyn Nets
Two first-round playoff matchups are finalized: Philadelphia will face Brooklyn, and Cleveland will face New York.
As for the bottom end of the postseason picture, Toronto lost to Boston tonight, which means the play-in tournament has been finalized for the East (Twitter link via Mark Medina of NBA.com).
- No. 7 Heat will host No. 8 Hawks on April 11 — the winner advances as the No. 7 seed to face Boston.
- No. 9 Raptors will host No. 10 Bulls on April 12 — the winner advances to face the loser of Miami vs. Atlanta.
- Loser of the Heat/Hawks matchup plays the winner of the Raptors/Bulls on April 14 — the winner advances as the No. 8 seed to face Milwaukee.
The first round starts on April 15, according to the NBA. The Bucks have locked up the best record in the league and will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Luka Samanic Signs Multiyear Deal With Jazz
APRIL 7: Samanic’s new contract with the Jazz is official, the team announced in a press release.
APRIL 6: Jazz power forward Luka Samanic has agreed to a deal with Utah that will run through the 2023/24 season, Samanic’s agents Mark Bartelstein and George Roussakis inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Samanic is on the final day of a 10-day deal with Utah. According to Wojnarowski, the forward’s new agreement with the team includes some level of guaranteed salary for next season and trigger dates for his money to become fully guaranteed.
Even with Samanic joining the team for the rest of the season and potentially next year, the Jazz still have 14 of their 15 standard roster spots filled. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Utah is one of just five NBA clubs who still possess a roster opening.
Selected with the No. 19 pick by the Spurs during the 2019 draft, Samanic spent two seasons in San Antonio, but failed to make much of an impact. He had been out of the league before inking his 10-day contract with Utah in March.
Across four games with the Jazz so far, Samanic is averaging career highs of 7.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 0.8 SPG, plus 1.8 APG, in 17.5 MPG.
Heat Notes: Strus, Zeller, Oladipo, Postseason, Haslem, More
Heat wing Max Strus has been reinserted into the starting lineup over the past three games as a small-ball power forward, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The impending free agent admits it has been a challenging season.
“It’s been tough,” Strus said of his ever-changing role. “I’ve learned a lot this year on and off the court. It’s been a hell of a year. But I think just being consistent with my mental, everything staying consistent with that has been a huge thing for me. I’ve really grown up and matured a lot throughout this whole season. I think that’s what I’m most proud of and what I’ve learned the most.”
As Chiang notes in another Miami Herald story, Miami’s rotation has been trimmed down to eight players: Gabe Vincent, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Strus and Bam Adebayo as the starting five, and Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Kevin Love off the bench. Love had previously been the starting power forward, but now he’s the primary backup center, with Cody Zeller — the former backup center — being a DNP-CD the past couple games before Friday’s matchup with the Wizards.
However, head coach Erik Spoelstra says that eight-man group isn’t set in stone.
“Right now I do like the fact that we have our depth and we have options, and we plan on utilizing any or all of them based on what we need for that night, that game,” Spoelstra said.
Here’s more on the Heat, who ruled out a handful of players tonight:
- Victor Oladipo was noncommittal when asked whether being out of the rotation lately might make him decline his $9.5MM player option for 2023/24, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, a scout tells Jackson the 30-year-old would be a poor financial decision not to pick it up. “He would be crazy to opt out,” the scout said. “At best, maybe he would get half a mid-level (exception) on the open market.”
- Thursday’s blowout victory over the Sixers guaranteed the Heat will at least be the No. 7 seed in the East (there’s still a slim chance they could get No. 6), which means they’ll be playing a home game in the postseason, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. If they remain at No. 7, the Heat would host the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament. If the Heat lose that game, they would host the winner of the matchup between the ninth and tenth seeds.
- The 2022/23 season is Udonis Haslem‘s 20th and final one with Miami. The longtime veteran and members of the organization recently reflected on his journey, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
- Jason Quick of The Athletic spoke to several former and current players, as well as former assistants, to get a better idea of Spoelstra’s coaching methods. Outsiders may no longer view the Heat as contenders amid an up-and-down season, but the veteran coach instills confidence in his team. “From the outside looking in, I’m sure it looks like we don’t have anything figured out,” Martin said, per Quick. “But we really, genuinely feel we can still do something great. Everybody says that, but we know, and we feel it. In our minds, we are still working toward a championship.”
Kris Murray, Jaime Jaquez, Oscar Tshiebwe Entering Draft
Iowa forward Kris Murray, a projected first-round pick who is currently ranked No. 26 on ESPN’s big board, has declared for the 2023 NBA draft, he announced via Twitter. Murray’s statement doesn’t say anything about maintaining his college eligibility, so we’re assuming he plans to stay in the draft and turn pro.
As a junior for the Hawkeyes, Murray averaged 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocks on .476/.335/.729 shooting in 29 games (34.9 minutes). He was named to the All-Big 10 First Team for his efforts. Murray is the twin brother of Kings rookie Keegan Murray, who was the No. 4 overall pick last year.
UCLA guard Jaime Jaquez is also entering the draft and will forgo his final year of eligibility, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Jaquez, considered a fringe first-round pick, currently ranks No. 34 on ESPN’s board.
As a senior for the Bruins, Jazquez averaged 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals on .481/.317/.770 shooting in 37 games (33.2 minutes). He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-America Second Team.
“Wherever I get drafted, I don’t care,” Jaquez said. “I’m going to make some sort of impact. People are going to feel like I impacted their organization. (Former No. 30 overall picks) Jimmy Butler, Josh Hart … those are the guys I study. They have a different mentality; they play to win.”
Here are a few more early entrants for the 2023 draft:
- Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe, who was the 2021/22 AP Player of the Year, is entering the draft while maintaining his final year of college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. Tshiebwe averaged 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block while shooting 56% from the field and 72.9% from the line in 32 games (33.6 minutes) as a senior. He is ranked No. 74 on ESPN’s board and considered a fringe second-round pick.
- Wake Forest’s Bobi Klintman (link via Sam Vecenie of The Athletic), Arizona State’s Warren Washington (Instagram link), and San Diego State’s Jaedon Ledee (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports) are all entering the draft while maintaining their eligibility. Vecenie believes Klintman, a 6’10” freshman wing from Sweden, could be a first-round pick in 2024. Washington and Ledee are both seniors who have one year of eligibility left due to the pandemic.
California Notes: Powell, Thompson, Kings, Lakers
Clippers reserve guard Norman Powell appears to be rediscovering his fighting form of late. In his most recent contest, a 125-118 win over the Lakers Wednesday, Powell notched a team-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register.
“I think it’s like my fourth game back coming off injury after missing 11 games so it was just being prepared and just staying mentally locked in and as (head coach Tyronn) Lue says, not playing so angry,” Powell said. “It just shows how much I love the game and how much I commit to it, and my preparation every single day.”
Playing in his first full season with the Clippers, the 6’3″ swingman is averaging 16.7 PPG on .476/.404/.815 shooting splits. All but eight of his 58 healthy contests have come off the team’s bench.
There’s more out of California:
- Starting Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has been dealing with a sore back of late, but head coach Steve Kerr said on Friday that the 6’7″ vet is feeling better and was a full practice participant today, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets.
- The 48-32 Kings could be without several notable players against the Warriors tonight, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets. All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are both questionable with ankle injuries. Shooting guard Kevin Huerter is managing his own injury, while rookie power forward Keegan Murray has a foot ailment. The statuses of forward Trey Lyles and guards Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk are also up-in-the-air. If Sacramento wins out and the Grizzlies lose out, the Kings would be able to secure the West’s second seed by benefit of a tiebreaker, but it appears the team is happy with its current No. 3 seed.
- Despite a clean injury sheet, the healthy Lakers‘ loss against a Clippers team missing All-Star forward Paul George exposes the club as being less than title-caliber, opines Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. Plaschke notes that stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James were clearly playing through ailments, and the rest of the team failed to step up to meet the moment.
Connecticut Star Jordan Hawkins Declaring For Draft
2023 NCAA champion Jordan Hawkins, a sophomore guard for Connecticut, is declaring for the NBA draft, as he informed Malika Andrews of ESPN during today’s broadcast of NBA Today (Twitter video link).
Hawkins is projected by ESPN’s big board to be the No. 15 pick in the impending 2023 draft.
“Hearing my name called on draft night will be a blessing,” Hawkins told Andrews, (hat tip to Jonathan Givony of ESPN). “I worked so hard for this, me and my dad, we’ve been through so much.
“When I first stepped on campus in Storrs, I was a little kid, just 160 pounds,” Hawkins continued. “I didn’t know the college game. Coach [Dan] Hurley threw me into the fire. He guided me through it. It means the world for me having him, having this opportunity. He told me sophomore year, I need to step my game up, make a name for myself. It’s amazing what we did together as a team.”
The 6’5″ swingman was an All-Big East First Teamer this season. He logged averages of 16.2 PPG with .409/.445/.887 shooting splits. He also chipped in 3.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, and 0.7 SPG. During Connecticut’s title game against San Diego State, Hawkins scored 16 points.
As Givony notes, Hawkins is considered an elite shooter, and improved as a ball-handler and defender this season, two skills that scouts are hoping he continues to develop at the next level. He went 21-of-42 from deep during the Huskies’ six-game tourney run.
“Shooting is my super power,” Hawkins said. “There are a lot of ball-dominant guys in the NBA who can create their own [shot]. I can be a knockdown shooter and play a significant role right away. As time moves on, I can develop and become an even bigger piece of the rotation, because I know I’m more than just a shooter. There’s more to my game, but I have to prove it to people.”