NBA Finals Notes: Court Design, Nembhard, SGA, Game 2
Responding to online complaints about the plain nature of the court for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, commissioner Adam Silver said the league office will have discussions this summer about bringing back the Larry O’Brien Trophy logo, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. The Paycom Center floor on Thursday was indistinguishable from a regular season game, lacking the trophy and the distinctive NBA Finals logo that used to be a tradition.
Amick explains that the league stopped using the trophy logo in 2014 in response to complaints about “slipperiness” on the courts. The Cavaliers had a small version of the trophy in the corner of their home court in 2017, and a much larger logo with a YouTube sponsorship was featured on the court during the 2020 Finals at the bubble in Orlando.
Silver is sympathetic toward fans who want the court for the league’s biggest event to have a special look.
“Maybe there’s a way around it,” he said. “To be honest, I hadn’t thought all that much about it until I (saw) it (on social media). I’m nostalgic, as well, for certain things. And also, I think for a media-driven culture, whether it’s people watching live or seeing those images on social media, it’s nice when you’re looking back on highlights and they stand out because you see that trophy logo or some other indication that it’s a special event. So, we’ll look at it.”
There’s more on the NBA Finals as the series gets set to resume Sunday night:
- Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard has a long-running friendship and rivalry with Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, per Tim Reyonolds of the Associated Press. They grew up playing basketball together, and they’re both members of Canada’s national team. Nembhard was SGA’s primary defender in Game 1, and even though the reigning MVP finished with 38 points, he admits that he had to work hard for them. “He’s a competitor. He’s a winner,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Nembhard. “Plays the game the right way on both ends of the floor. Really good player. Yeah, he’s a winner for sure. No doubt.”
- The Thunder have been exceptional after losses throughout the regular season and playoffs, so the Pacers will have a huge challenge in Game 2, Reynolds adds in a separate story. Oklahoma City has a 17-2 record in the next game coming off a defeat with an average margin of victory of 17.5 points. “You don’t want to be reactive to the last game because then you can be too high after wins, you can be too low after losses,” OKC coach Mark Daigneault said. “We just get ourselves to neutral. Understand every game is different, every game is unwritten. You go out there, the ball goes up in the air, and the team that competes better on that night wins.”
- John Hollinger of The Athletic analyzes several key plays from the series opener to understand how Indiana was able to erase a 15-point fourth quarter deficit.
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Towns, Thibodeau, Hart
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are the most valuable trade assets the Knicks possess as they try to finish the job of building a championship roster, according to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. Winfield ranks the potential value of everything New York has to work with this summer, starting with Brunson and going down to Boston’s top-45 protected second-round pick in 2028. Team president Leon Rose has limited draft capital remaining after last year’s trades for Towns and Mikal Bridges, so most of the coveted assets would be players.
It seems unthinkable that the Knicks would part with Brunson, their captain, especially after he accepted a team-friendly extension that could keep him under contract through the 2028/29 season. They may be more willing to move on from Towns, whose contract becomes more burdensome until he reaches a $61MM player option in 2027/28. Towns’ defensive shortcomings can make it challenging to have him and Brunson on the floor together, which Indiana exploited in the conference finals.
Bridges, New York’s 2032 first-round pick and OG Anunoby round out Winfield’s top five. The Knicks face a looming decision on Bridges, who is entering the final year of his contract and will be eligible for an offseason extension potentially worth $156MM over four years. Anunoby, the second-highest-paid player on the team, is signed for three more seasons and holds a $48.4MM player option for 2028/29.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- The team’s next head coach will be walking into an extremely high-pressure situation, as reaching the conference finals wasn’t enough to save Tom Thibodeau‘s job, notes Steve Popper of Newsday. He points out that the Knicks have been mentioned as serious suitors for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant, so the new coach will have to adjust his preferred style if one of those stars is in New York. Popper cautions that the team may have to aim smaller and states that avoiding the second apron figures to be an offseason priority. The Knicks are currently $8MM under that threshold, but can expand that by $3.5MM by declining their team option on P.J. Tucker. They could save another $2MM by also declining their option on Ariel Hukporti, but he may be too valuable at that price to let go.
- Thibodeau deserved another season as head coach to hone the Brunson-Towns combination and figure out ways to improve the defense, contends Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn argues that Thibodeau took the fall for management’s mistakes, including giving up five first-round picks for Bridges and parting with two valuable pieces from last year’s team to bring in Towns.
- Josh Hart, who played for Jay Wright at Villanova, fully supports Wright’s decision to not pursue the Knicks’ coaching vacancy. “Man Thank You. Stay retired!” Hart tweeted.
Thunder Notes: Jalen Williams, Holmgren, SGA, Presti
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carried the scoring load as expected for the Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren both suffered through off nights, combining for 23 points while shooting 8-of-28 from the field, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Williams saw his normal workload, but Holmgren was limited to 23 minutes as OKC coach Mark Daigneault went away from his two-big lineups.
At Saturday’s practice, Daigneault noted that Williams and Holmgren, who were both drafted in 2022, are young players who are being asked to produce on the league’s biggest stage.
“They have carved out huge roles on our team — they are a huge reason why we’re here,” he said. “They are in an uncommon position for third-year players. These are guys that are in their third year. Usually, delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players, you know, and they have thrust themselves into that situation, which is a credit to them.
“And now that they are here, they have to continue to do what they have done all the way through the playoffs, which is go out there, fully compete, learn the lessons, and apply it forward. And they have done a great job of that. I think you’ve seen that over the course of the playoffs. They haven’t always played their best game, but they always get themselves ready to play the next one.”
There’s more from Oklahoma City:
- In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Williams talks about his quick rise from a mid-major college team to NBA stardom. Williams reveals that he didn’t receive any Power 5 scholarship offers, so he opted for Santa Clara, where he gradually developed into an NBA prospect. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate everything that happened and I look back and believe that if it didn’t happen that way, I don’t think I would be in the position I was,” Williams said. “So, in a way, honestly, it just makes me feel kind of relieved and happy that was the way it went. I remember a lot of times I would work out because something went wrong or I didn’t get picked for something I thought I should get picked for. It made me go to the gym. It made me take it way more seriously.”
- With an MVP award already in his possession, Gilgeous-Alexander has a chance to join an elite list of players by winning an NBA championship, observes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Lorenzi points out that Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only players to capture a scoring title, MVP honors and Finals MVP in the same season.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic examines how general manager Sam Presti was able to build a second great team in Oklahoma City after his first one fell apart without winning a title.
Celtics Notes: Sale, Porzingis, Holiday, Hauser, White, Tatum
With the NBA’s Board of Governors set to vote on the Celtics sale later this month, there don’t appear to be any reasons that it would be rejected, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. New majority owner William Chisholm finalized the funding for the $6.1 billion purchase in May, with Robert Hale, Bruce A. Beal Jr. and Sixth Street among the other notable investors.
The group will take over a 51% stake of the team this summer, with the remainder of the purchase to be completed in 2028. Some concerns were raised about a two-stage deal after a similar arrangement in Minnesota had to be worked out in court, but commissioner Adam Silver didn’t raise any objections when asked about the purchase during his press conference Thursday before the start of the NBA Finals.
“I’d just say that the Boston Celtics deal I don’t think of as a staged deal,” Silver said. “They’re still in the process of completing it. It’s really more about a phase-out of current ownership. I think there Bill Chisholm, who is the incoming owner, he’s got to sort of straighten out some affairs in his life and his business. He’s currently located on the West Coast. I think he’s a huge admirer of (current majority owner) Wyc Grousbeck and the way he’s been running that team. Obviously their results speak for themselves.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser are all likely to be traded this summer if management is determined to get below the tax threshold, Robb states in a mailbag column. With a $10MM salary next season, Hauser should be easy to move without taking back another player in return, Robb adds. That won’t be true for Porzingis ($30.7MM) or Holiday ($32.4MM), but Robb suggests that Boston can reduce the salaries it takes on by getting other teams involved.
- As the Celtics consider how to cut payroll this summer, Derrick White should be kept off the table in any trade talks, contends Chad Finn of The Boston Globe. Finn points out that White holds the franchise record for the most made three-pointers in a season, and he’s an elite shot blocker for a guard. He’s only 30 with a relatively affordable contract, and he can be part of the foundation to rebuild around when Jayson Tatum returns from his Achilles injury.
- Tatum offered an update today on his recovery from surgery, tweeting, “Day 25… days starting to get a little easier.”
Trail Blazers Adding Splitter, St. Andrews To Coaching Staff
Tiago Splitter and Patrick St. Andrews are joining the Trail Blazers‘ coaching staff as assistants to Chauncey Billups, multiple sources tell Danny Marang of 1080 The Fan in Portland (Twitter link). Splitter’s return to the NBA was first reported by international basketball writer Chema de Lucas (Twitter link).
After retiring as a player, Splitter began his coaching career in 2019, spending four seasons as an assistant with Brooklyn and one with Houston before being named head coach of Paris Basketball last summer. He also serves as an assistant with the Brazilian national team.
St. Andrews is a former assistant in Memphis who lost his job when Taylor Jenkins was fired in late March. St. Andrews became an assistant with Atlanta in 2017, then spent five years in Milwaukee before joining the Grizzlies. He was one of just two assistants who were retained when Jenkins’ coaching staff was revamped last summer.
Splitter and St. Andrews will reportedly be joining Kings G League coach Quinton Crawford, who was rumored last week to be an upcoming addition to Billups’ staff.
Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Hanlen, Siakam, Trade Deadline
If the Kings had been more patient, maybe Tyrese Haliburton would be nailing clutch shots while leading them on an inspiring run to the NBA Finals. Instead, he was sent to the Pacers in a blockbuster six-player deal at the 2022 trade deadline. As Sam Amick of The Athletic notes, the trade originally appeared to be a good move for both teams, but Haliburton’s emergence into stardom has made it more one-sided.
Sources tell Amick that Sacramento knew it couldn’t keep both Haliburton and fellow point guard De’Aaron Fox, but Fox’s trade value was at a low point in 2022. The front office explored deals involving Fox, who had recently signed a five-year, $160MM contract, but couldn’t find a worthwhile return.
Amick’s sources say the Kings had discussions with Indiana about both guards, but believed they could make a much better deal by parting with Haliburton. Rick Carlisle was in his first season as the Pacers’ head coach and was looking for a point guard he could trust to run his up-tempo offense.
“Our team was kind of at a crossroads,” general manager Chad Buchanan recalled. “We didn’t really have a guy, like a young player, that you could really build around. … So we tried to target some young guards, play-making guards around the league that we thought maybe fit the bill. They’re very hard to acquire, obviously. We felt like Tyrese, with the way Rick wanted to play, and how we want to build a team in the modern NBA — playing faster, playing a little more random. Tyrese was one of the ideal targets to try to build that type of system around. That’s what coach Carlisle values, and has developed his philosophy (around) over the years and where we’re at today. It was just a great fit from that standpoint.”
There’s more on the Pacers:
- A meeting with trainer Drew Hanlen shortly before the trade to Indiana changed Haliburton’s approach to the game, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Hanlen challenged him to look for his own shot and stop deferring to teammates so much. “The big quote that we always say is, ‘Sometimes being too unselfish is actually being selfish,'” Hanlen said. “When he’s unselfish, it actually negatively impacts his teammates’ success and negatively impacts his team’s success. The more aggressive he is, the more his team wins.” Shelburne adds that Hanlen had been watching tape of Haliburton prior to their meeting because he was also working with Joel Embiid, and the Sixers were involved in discussions with the Kings on a deal that would have involved Haliburton and Ben Simmons.
- Pacers players are brimming with confidence after their improbable comeback in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, writes Jordan Davis of The Oklahoman. Indiana pulled out the victory despite committing 19 turnovers in the first half and trailing by double digits for much of the game. “We didn’t even play well,” Pascal Siakam said in an exchange with Haliburton as they walked to the locker room after the final buzzer (Twitter video link from ESPN).
- The Pacers chose to stand pat at the trade deadline because they believed in the roster they had assembled, per Fred Katz of The Athletic. Even though there are looming financial issues for 2025/26 and three Eastern Conference teams appeared to be clearly ahead of them, Indiana’s front office didn’t search the market for a deal to cut salary or drastically change the roster.
Stein’s Latest: Kidd, Flagg, Beal, Booker, More
The Mavericks will likely deny permission for the Knicks to talk to Jason Kidd about their head coaching vacancy if a formal request is made, Marc Stein states in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Stein cites “well-placed observers” who believe Dallas would turn down the request to interview Kidd, just as the Rockets have communicated that they would do if New York asks to speak with Ime Udoka.
Stein points out that Kidd received an extension after the first round of the playoffs in May of 2024 when rumors began circulating that the Lakers were targeting him in their search for a head coach. Kidd took the Mavs to the NBA Finals after that extension was finalized and led them to the play-in tournament this year while dealing with the fallout from the Luka Doncic trade and a late-season roster shortage.
Stein writes that many people in the league are confounded that the top targets who have emerged since Tom Thibodeau was fired are coaches who are already employed — Kidd, Udoka and Minnesota’s Chris Finch. He notes that several prominent coaches are currently free agents, citing Michael Malone, Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel as examples.
Stein provides a list of coaches who have been involved in trades, noting that it has happened five times since 1982.
Stein offers more information from around the NBA:
- Cooper Flagg will visit Dallas prior to the June 25 draft, Stein has learned. There’s no drama regarding who the Mavericks will take with the No. 1 pick, but the visit will give Flagg a chance to become familiar with the coaching staff and team executives before it becomes official.
- A buyout may not be a realistic option for the Suns if they can’t work out a trade involving Bradley Beal. According to Stein, Phoenix is limited to a buyout offer of about $80MM, which is far short of the nearly $111MM Beal has left on his contract. The fact that the interview process for coaches included questions about how they plan to incorporate Beal is a sign that the Suns understand that he’ll be hard to move, Stein observes.
- Stein expects Devin Booker to receive a two-year, $150MM extension once he becomes eligible on July 6, noting that he played a prominent role in the search for a new head coach.
- Stein hears that Bucks guard Pat Connaughton is likely to pick up his $9.4MM player option for next season. A decision is expected soon, although the deadline isn’t until June 24.
- Former Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin has interviewed with the Grizzlies for a spot on Tuomas Iisalo‘s coaching staff, sources tell Stein.
Zach Edey To Have Ankle Surgery, May Miss Start Of Next Season
Zach Edey will undergo surgery after re-spraining his left ankle during a workout this week, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Medical imaging on the ankle revealed “excessive ligamentous laxity,” the team stated, and the procedure will “address the laxity and re-stabilize his ankle.”
The Grizzlies said a recovery timeline won’t be set until after the surgery is complete, but Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) reports that Edey will likely miss the beginning of next season.
“After consulting with the Grizzlies and multiple specialists, we decided this is the best approach for Zach long-term as it gets him back to 100% with no limitations,” Edey’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told Charania (Twitter link). “He will make a full recovery and be back better than ever.”
Edey turned in a strong rookie season after being selected with the ninth pick in last year’s draft. He started 55 of the 66 games he played while averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.5 minutes per night and posting .580/.346/.709 shooting numbers.
Edey was a first-team All-Rookie selection and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal points out that Edey dealt with left ankle issues throughout the season. He first injured the ankle during Summer League action and later suffered another ankle injury that sidelined him for 12 games.
His injury could cause the Grizzlies to be in the market for frontcourt depth this summer. They own the 48th and 56th picks in the upcoming draft.
Jay Wright Not A Candidate For Knicks’ Coaching Job
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright is not a candidate for the Knicks‘ head coaching job, reports Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (via Twitter).
According to Rothstein, Wright frequently talks to Knicks president Leon Rose, who is aware that Wright is happy in retirement. Wright retired in 2022 after 21 seasons with the Wildcats.
Wright, 63, has been a commentator for CBS in recent years. Although he was floated as a possible candidate after Tom Thibodeau was fired, subsequent reports indicated that Wright was highly unlikely to leave retirement to take the job.
Wright said last June he had no interest taking an NBA job, whether it was in New York or elsewhere. His ties to the Knicks are obvious, as three key players — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — played under Wright at Villanova. Wright led the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances and won two national championships (in 2016 and 2018).
Multiple Knicks beat reporters have confirmed the news (all Twitter links).
Western Notes: Kidd, Jazz, Wojciechowski, Kings
As of Friday night, the Knicks had not yet requested permission — formally or informally — from the Mavericks to interview Jason Kidd for their head coaching vacancy, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Marc Stein reported on Friday morning that New York was expected to seek Dallas’ permission to interview Kidd, who has been the Mavs’ head coach since 2021 and is under contract for two more seasons. Multiple reporters have confirmed the news.
However, it remains unclear if the Mavericks will permit the Knicks to speak to Kidd. According to Townsend (Twitter link), the Knicks should tread carefully and “go by the book,” because the Mavericks “would love to nail” New York with a tampering charge.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- How can the Jazz‘s recent draft picks improve this offseason? In a subscriber-only story for The Salt Lake Tribune, Andy Larsen relays comments from GM Justin Zanik and head coach Will Hardy about how Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski can take the next steps in their development. Hardy said defense and shooting discipline are top priorities for George, Larsen writes. “Keyonte has got to improve his defense. His defense can be improved in a variety of ways,” the coach said. “Some of it is the mental aspect, but there also is an element of his conditioning and his physical strength” that can be improved as well.
- The Jazz have promoted Steve Wojciechowski to be an assistant on Hardy’s staff, the team announced in a press release. Wojciechowski, a longtime assistant at his alma mater Duke and the former head coach at Marquette, has been the head coach of the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the past two seasons. Wojciechowski compiled a 41-17 regular season record with the Stars and led the club to consecutive playoff berths.
- The Kings have parted ways with veteran scouts Scott Layden and Greg Stratton, sources tell Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento (Twitter link). Layden, formerly the top basketball executive of Utah, New York and Minnesota, had been with the Kings since 2022, while Stratton was hired in 2018. The Kings are also bringing back Garrius Adams as a player development assistant under head coach Doug Christie, Cunningham reports (via Twitter). Adams, who worked in Sacramento from 2021-23, has been on Willie Green‘s staff in New Orleans the past two seasons.