Mavericks Notes: Play-In Tournament, Doncic, Protest
With most of their early-season goals now out of reach, the Mavericks are focused on trying to earn a spot in the play-in tournament, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. It’s a far cry from where the team expected to be after last year’s run to the Western Conference Finals, but the players realize they still have a chance to salvage their season.
“Obviously the rankings don’t look great,” Maxi Kleber said. “But we’ve just got to do our job, have good practices, improve and stay together as a team.”
The Mavs entered tonight in 11th place at 37-40, just a half-game behind Oklahoma City for the final play-in spot. Townsend cites a Basketball-Reference playoff probabilities report that shows Dallas with just a 1.7% chance of finishing seventh and a 5.9% shot at eighth. The more likely scenarios are ninth (14.7%) or 10th (22.4%), which means having to win two play-in games just to make the playoffs.
“We know where we realistically are,” Kyrie Irving said, “and our destiny is in some other teams’ hands losing games.”
There’s more on the Mavericks:
- Past mistakes are more to blame for the team’s downfall than the decision to trade for Irving, claims Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Goodwill says the organization erred by trading for Kristaps Porzingis, who turned out to be a poor fit alongside Luka Doncic, and in not recognizing the value of Jalen Brunson before he became an unrestricted free agent.
- Doncic is committed to playing for Slovenia in exhibition games Aug. 11 against Spain and Aug. 12 against the United States, even though the dates conflict with Dirk Nowitzki‘s Hall of Fame induction, Townsend adds in another Dallas Morning News story. Doncic said he hates to miss the ceremony, but he’s committed to helping his nation try to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. “I think everybody knew he was gonna make it,” Doncic said of Nowitzki. “He was really very, very excited for it. I’m really happy for him.”
- Friday was the deadline for the Mavericks and Warriors to submit information to the league office regarding Dallas’ protest of its March 22 loss, Marc Stein tweets. The league will have up to five business days to make a final ruling.
Latest On New Collective Bargaining Agreement
We learned overnight that the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will introduce a second tax apron that imposes more severe restrictions on the league’s highest-spending teams. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter) what some of those restrictions will be.
Teams that exceed the second apron won’t be permitted to send out cash in deals, trade away first-round picks seven years in the future or sign players who become free agents in the buyout market, sources tell Wojnarowski. The new apron will reportedly be set $17.5MM above the luxury tax line, and ESPN reported earlier that teams in that category will also lose their mid-level exception in free agency.
Teams exceeding the second apron will also be prohibited from taking back more salary than they send out in a trade, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
Bobby Marks of ESPN points to the Suns’ acquisition of Kevin Durant in February and the Nets’ trade for James Harden in 2021 as deals that would likely have needed to be altered if the new rules were in place at the time they were made (Twitter link).
There’s more on the new CBA agreement:
- Positions will no longer be taken into consideration in voting for All-NBA teams, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Under the current rules, voters must pick two guards, two forwards and a center for each of the three teams. Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid were the top vote-getters in the MVP race last year, but because they both play center, Embiid had to settle for second-team All-NBA honors.
- Draymond Green isn’t a supporter of the new agreement, claiming the union didn’t get enough in negotiations. “Players lose again…. Smh! Middle and Lower spectrum teams don’t spend because they don’t want to,” he tweeted. “They want to lose. So increase their spending capabilities, just to increase them. They continue to cut out the middle. And this is what we rushed into a deal for? Smdh! Never fails.” In an exchange with fans, Green pointed out that the Warriors sold for $500MM shortly before he arrived and claimed that the team is now worth $8 billion. “Never seen someone go to a table with the assets that makes an entire machine go, and lose EVERY time! Blasphemous,” Green added.
- The one-and-done rule that prevents players from entering the NBA draft directly out of high school remains in place, but Devin Booker believes it will eventually be changed, writes Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. “I think most kids are still finding their way out or they’re not even going to college and their spending a year removed training somewhere at a prep school or something of that such,” Booker said. “So with the NIL, I think that’s a step forward. Those players are able to get paid now off their name and likeness, so that’s really important. But we’ll see. I think it will eventually get back to no college.”
Southeast Notes: Banchero, Adebayo, O. Robinson, Hunter
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley was surprised to learn that some media members believe Paolo Banchero has a legitimate challenger for Rookie of the Year honors, writes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Speaking to reporters before Friday’s game, Mosley scoffed at the suggestion that the Thunder‘s Jalen Williams is being considered as an alternative to Banchero.
“With all due respect, it’s not a race in my opinion,” Mosley said. “[Banchero] has impacted winning. His ability to help us get to the free throw line [is] huge. Our paint touches have been huge. We talked about the tough month he had shooting — his ability to bounce back from that month and shoot the ball well again. For me, it comes back to a young man on a young team that impacted winning the way he has and the environment the way it is.”
Banchero rewarded Mosley’s confidence Friday with his sixth 30-point game, the most among all rookies. He has been considered a clear choice as Rookie of the Year for most of the season, but a February slump, combined with Williams’ expanding role in Oklahoma City, may produce a closer vote than originally expected. Price points out that Banchero’s numbers are better across the board and he has a 27.7% usage rate, compared to 18.5% for Williams.
“You can just see how our team’s winning, especially from last year to this year,” Markelle Fultz said. “Obviously, it’s a lot of guys who contributed to that. But picking him up was a big part of it. I don’t really think it’s any discussion about it, but of course, people got to vote.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Heat center Bam Adebayo will miss Saturday’s game due to a hip injury, with coach Erik Spoelstra saying, “He’s just not able to move,” tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo will undergo treatment on the hip for most of the first half, Spoelstra added.
- It’s surprising that the Heat didn’t recall center Orlando Robinson to help fill in for Adebayo, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link). Robinson, who served as the primary backup earlier in the season, still has four games of eligibility left on his two-way contract. However, he’s involved in the G League playoffs as Sioux Falls will host the Western Conference finals on Sunday night.
- An MRI conducted Saturday morning on Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter showed a bone bruise and muscle strain in his left knee, the team announced in a press release. Hunter has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Dallas and is considered day-to-day.
Bulls Notes: Drummond, Caruso, Free Agency, Dosunmu
Andre Drummond returned to the Bulls on Friday night after spending a few days away for mental health reasons, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The veteran center made an immediate impact, grabbing 11 rebounds in 14 minutes in a win over Charlotte. After the game, he expressed thanks to his teammates for understanding his situation.
“Felt good to be back on the floor again,” Drummond said. “My guys rallied behind me, just gave me a lot of support when I came back in here. It definitely boosted my energy. I still have a lot to deal with, a lot to tackle in my own personal life. But it’s good to be back on the floor again.”
Drummond missed just one game during his absence, sitting out Wednesday’s contest against the Lakers for personal reasons. He’s averaging 6.7 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per night this season, and his board work will be needed for Chicago to advance past the play-in tournament.
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Alex Caruso was able to play his second straight game Friday, but his sprained left foot remains a concern, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The team is keeping Caruso away from contact during practices, and coach Billy Donovan pulled him from Wednesday’s game at halftime because the foot appeared to be bothering him. “Alex doesn’t complain,” Donovan said. “He doesn’t say anything. I can just tell, the way he’s moving. Alex will give everything he’s got. But he’s going to have to deal with this. It’s going to be an ongoing challenge for him the rest of the year. He tries to fight through it the best that he can.”
- Luxury tax considerations will weigh heavily on the Bulls’ free agency decisions, Johnson states in a mailbag column. The tax line for next season is projected at $162MM, and the team already has about $111.5MM committed to six players. Drummond and Derrick Jones Jr. could raise that total to $118MM if they both pick up their player options. That leaves a limited amount to offer Nikola Vucevic and Coby White unless the front office can unload some other salaries.
- Ayo Dosunmu has put up similar numbers to last season when he was considered a draft steal, but his impact hasn’t felt the same, Johnson adds. Dosunmu, White and Patrick Beverley will all be free agents this summer, and Johnson doesn’t expect all three to return.
New York Notes: Toppin, Barrett, Claxton, Bridges, Simmons
Obi Toppin, who started in place of injured Julius Randle on Friday, had a heated exchange with RJ Barrett during the Knicks’ win over the Cavaliers on Friday night. However, the Knicks downplayed the incident afterward, Peter Botte of the New York Post reports.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau and his assistants had to keep Toppin away from Barrett during a third-quarter timeout. Toppin and Barrett hugged on the court shortly afterward.
“We’re brothers. And we’re good. We discussed it,” Toppin said.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Nic Claxton signed a two-year, $17.25MM contract as a restricted free agent last summer. That contract is proving to be a bargain, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Claxton has started 72 games and leads the Nets in blocks and rebounds. Claxton hopes he remains with the franchise beyond next season. “It’s human nature. It’s just in our business, you never really know what’s going to happen as far as trades, contracts and everything,” Claxton said. “But I’ve been here four years, and Brooklyn has been a huge [time], played a huge role in my growth. And I would love to be here.”
- Nets forward Mikal Bridges is on track to play 83 regular season games this season, something that hasn’t been done since Josh Smith played that many games for Houston and Detroit in 2014/15, Nick Friedell of ESPN notes. Nets GM Sean Marks is impressed by Bridges’ durability during a time when players are frequently rested. “You look at how he plays the game,” Marks said. “Obviously, when he was playing in Phoenix, even dating back to college days, the length, the reliability — he’s nearing 400 games played in a row, it’s pretty unique in this day and age. And for somebody who actually wants to play at that clip is also certainly refreshing.”
- With Ben Simmons declared out for the season by the Nets, Lewis interviewed a number of medical experts and Simmons’ agent to determine whether he’ll be healthier next season (New York Post subscription required). Lewis also explored the question of whether Simmons might require surgery to resolve his back and knee issues.
Blazers Sign Jeenathan Williams, Waive Ryan Arcidiacono
3:42pm: The Trail Blazers have confirmed both moves in a press release.
12:00pm: The Trail Blazers are making a change to their standard roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive veteran guard Ryan Arcidiacono and use the open roster spot to sign guard Jeenathan Williams to a two-year contract.
Williams, who went undrafted out of Buffalo in 2022, has spent his first professional season with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate. In 32 regular season appearances for Salt Lake City, Williams averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 29.8 minutes per game, posting an impressive .523/.417/.848 shooting line.
While the terms of Williams’ new deal aren’t yet known, it’s unlikely to include much, if any, guaranteed money beyond this season, essentially giving the Blazers a free look at the 24-year-old this summer before they decide whether they want to hang onto him for next season.
Arcidiacono began this season with the Knicks and was traded to Portland in the four-team trade deadline deal that sent Josh Hart to New York. The 29-year-old guard has actually played more in Portland than he did for the Knicks, averaging 2.6 PPG and 2.3 APG in nine games (16.2 MPG), though he’s currently sidelined due to lumbar soreness. He logged just 26 minutes in 11 contests for New York.
Arcidiacono won’t be playoff-eligible if he signs with a new team before the end of the regular season.
Due to a plethora of injuries, the Blazers have qualified for multiple hardship exceptions and signed Skylar Mays and Shaquille Harrison to fortify their standard roster. However, hardship signings can only be 10-day deals, so the team couldn’t give Williams a two-year contract without waiving someone on a rest-of-season deal.
Eastern Notes: T. Antetokounmpo, McConnell, Celtics, Trent Jr.
Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has been suspended one game without pay for headbutting Boston big man Blake Griffin, the league’s PR department tweets.
Antetokounmpo was ejected late in the fourth quarter for the head butt, which occurred during the Bucks’ 41-point loss on Thursday. He’ll serve his suspension on Sunday when the Bucks host Philadelphia.
We have more Eastern Conference news:
- T.J. McConnell is still pushing hard as the Pacers’ season winds down, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. McConnell has hit double figures in six consecutive games, including a 21-point performance against Oklahoma City on Friday in which he also added nine rebounds and eight assists. “He’s a unique player that has a unique style of play, but I just think he’s one of the most unusual competitors that I’ve ever seen in the NBA,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He just brings an exuberance and a defiance that is a big part of what we’re doing and what we’re building.”
- How will the new CBA affect the Celtics? Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores that topic, noting that reported increase in veteran extensions from 120 percent to 140 percent is unlikely to impact Jaylen Brown, who is seeking a super-max extension.
- Gary Trent Jr. missed the Raptors’ game on Friday but it wasn’t the related to the elbow injury that kept him out of the previous four games. Trent was sidelined by back spasms, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.
Jazz Notes: Sexton, Clarkson, Smith, Hardy, Horton-Tucker
Neither Collin Sexton nor Jordan Clarkson has been shut down for the season, according to Jazz coach Will Hardy, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.
Both played in a 3-on-3 scrimmage after the team’s shootaround on Friday. Sexton hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 15 due to a hamstring strain, while Clarkson has been sidelined since March 5 due to a finger injury.
We have more from the Jazz:
- Owner Ryan Smith — who also has part ownership in MLS franchise Real Salt Lake — met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman following an NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, Walden relays via a report from Elliotte Friedman of Canada’s Sportsnet. Smith had been rumored as a potential purchaser of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ franchise when it was up for sale in 2021. Smith may look to bring an NHL franchise to Utah, though a new arena might be necessary. The NHL is unlikely to expand in the near future but the relocation of a current franchise in financial distress could be a possibility.
- The team got a glimpse of what its future could be when it squared off on Friday against the Celtics, where Hardy was an assistant last season, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes. Hardy said the Jazz can carry lessons from how Boston has reemerged as one of the NBA’s elite teams. “Boston is hunting for a championship,” Hardy said. “They are a team that plays at a very high level on both ends of the floor. They are a team that’s very versatile. So, in that way, yeah, that’s the level that we want to be at. And that’s the level that we’re aiming for.”
- Talen Horton-Tucker, who can become a free agent this summer if he declines an $11MM option, had mixed results in Boston after his 41-point explosion against San Antonio on Wednesday, Jones notes in the same story. He had impressive stats with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. However, he also made four turnovers and took 21 shots in 31 minutes, with his shot selection questionable at times.
Southeast Notes: Beal, Maledon, Washington, Strus, Heat
Responding to reports that Wizards guard Bradley Beal is under police investigation for a postgame altercation with fans in Orlando, agent Mark Bartelstein told Marc J. Spears of ESPN (Twitter link) that his client is “one of the NBA’s classiest and outstanding citizens” and blamed the fans for their “abusive” language.
“The comments and words that were spewed at Brad in Orlando have no place anywhere in our society,” Bartelstein wrote in a statement. “For him to be subject to that type of verbal abuse is absolutely unacceptable. I believe the league is going to have to take a much closer look as to what is happening in NBA arenas to protect the players and I know that where we have advanced with gambling is certainly having a huge impact on this behavior!”
As we previously relayed, a man in the stands who had made a bet on the game allegedly told Beal, “You made me lose $1,300, you f–k,” while the guard was heading toward the locker room. The police report stated that Beal turned around and walked toward the stands, then swatted at a friend of the man who made the comment, making contact with his head and knocking his hat off.
According to TMZ Sports, the fans involved in the confrontation, who were sitting courtside, were heckling Beal for much of the night and made multiple “disparaging” comments aimed at the Wizards star. There has been no clarity yet on whether or not Beal will face any charges for the incident.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Hornets‘ signing of Xavier Sneed to a 10-day contract helped clear the way for Theo Maledon to have a career night on Tuesday, as Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer explains. Teams are limited to having their two-way players active for just 90 combined games (instead of 100) if they don’t have full 15-man rosters, so adding Sneed as a 15th man allowed the team to start Maledon. He responded with 19 points and nine assists in a road win over Oklahoma City.
- Hornets forward P.J. Washington may have played his last game before he becomes a restricted free agent. Washington left Friday’s loss to Chicago due to a sprained right ankle, and Boone isn’t sure whether he’ll return for any of the four games left on Charlotte’s schedule.
- Heat guard Max Strus, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, admitted that he can’t help but think about what his next contract might look like and whether he’ll remain in Miami going forward, but he doesn’t feel like it’s affecting his play at all, per Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It wouldn’t be human to not think about it,” Strus said. “I wouldn’t say it’s added pressure or anything like that.”
- Following the bankruptcy of crypto exchange company FTX, the Heat‘s arena will be getting a new name. As Douglas Hanks of The Miami Herald details, the arena will be called the Kaseya Center, assuming a $117MM agreement with a local software company is approved next week by Miami-Dade County commissioners.
Popovich, Nowitzki, Wade Headline 2023 Hall Of Fame Class
APRIL 1: Popovich, Wade, Nowitzki, Gasol, Parker, and Hammon have officially been announced as Hall of Famers. In addition to those previously reported names, the following inductees will join them:
- Gene Bess: Longtime head coach at Three Rivers Community College who won two NJCAA national championships and won a record 1,300 games.
- Gary Blair: Longtime women’s basketball head coach at Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Stephen F. Austin who won a national championship in 2011 and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
- David Hixon: Longtime Amherst College head coach who won a pair of Division III national championships and was twice named the D-III Coach of the Year
- Gene Keady: Longtime Purdue head coach who appeared in 17 NCAA tournaments and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year seven times.
The Hall of Fame is also recognizing Jim Valvano, the late NCAA broadcaster who created The V Foundation for Cancer Research, and the 1976 Olympic U.S. women’s basketball team (Twitter links).
This year’s class will formally be enshrined in the Hall of Fame on the weekend of August 11-12 in Springfield, Mass.
MARCH 28: Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Becky Hammon have been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
All six were finalists of the 2023 class, and a formal announcement of all the inductees will take place on Saturday morning at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Popovich, the NBA’s all-time leader in wins for a head coach, has won five championships, all with San Antonio. The 74-year-old is in his 27th season as the lead coach of the Spurs, compiling a 1363-757 record to this point, good for a 64.3 winning percentage. In 284 postseason games, his teams have gone 170-114 — a 59.9 winning percentage.
A three-time Coach of the Year, Popovich is the longest tenured active coach in the league. He led Team USA to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Popovich was actually eligible to be inducted years ago but didn’t want to be considered until his longtime point guard Parker was eligible after Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Nowitzki spent his entire 21-year career with the Mavericks, winning the team’s lone championship in 2011 en route to Finals MVP. He earned numerous accolades during his career, including being named the league’s 2006/07 MVP. The German big man was also 14-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA member.
Wade, a shooting guard, was a 13-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA member, and three-time NBA champion with the Heat. He was named Finals MVP in 2006 and spent the bulk of his career with Miami. Wade is currently a part owner of the Jazz.
Parker, a point guard, spent his first 17 seasons with the Spurs before surprisingly signing one-year contract to finish his career with Charlotte. He was a six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA member, four-time NBA champion and 2007 Finals MVP.
Gasol, a forward/center, was a six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA member, two-time NBA champion with the Lakers and was the ’01/02 Rookie of the Year. He also had a storied international career with the Spanish national team, winning a couple of Olympic silver medals and several medals during World Cup and EuroBasket compeitions.
Hammon was a six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time first-team All-WNBA member. The former guard won an Olympic gold medal in 1998 with the U.S. national team.
Hammon was a Spurs assistant for parts of eight seasons, becoming the first female acting head coach in NBA history when Popovich was ejected from a game in December 2020. She departed San Antonio when she was named head coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, becoming the first rookie head coach to win a championship last season.