Southeast Notes: KCP, Coulibaly, Davis, Baldwin, Hornets
In an interview with David Aldridge of The Athletic, veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope explained why he chose to sign with the Magic in free agency.
“The young core,” Caldwell-Pope told Aldridge. “These are most of the guys that they had last year, just adding new pieces. But that core they have, they already believe in each other, trust each other. Just watching them, the way they played, it was not ‘me, I.’ Everybody took sacrifices. For a young team to be able to grow up that fast says a lot about them and their organization. That made my decision easy.
“They were one of the best defensive teams last year, and that’s what I like to do — defend. Natural fit. It was easy for me to just come in and fit right in and not try to step on anyone’s toes. When I talk to most of the young guys, it’s about defense, them helping me and what I see and they don’t see, and I’m telling them. Everybody is eager to learn, I would say.”
Caldwell-Pope, a key role player on two championship-winning teams in the past five years (the Lakers and Nuggets, respectively), was one of the top free agents to switch teams this summer, going from Denver to Orlando. He signed a three-year, $66MM deal with the Magic.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- Second-year wing Bilal Coulibaly and showcased his offseason improvement during the Wizards‘ preseason opener on Sunday, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. According to Robbins, Coulibaly appears “stronger, more confident and more skilled.” The 20-year-old grew an inch, added 10 pounds to his thin frame, won a silver medal with the French national team, and has also developed his ball-handling, particularly with his left hand, after his rookie campaign ended due to a fractured right wrist.
- Wizards guard Johnny Davis is another player who looks improved as he enters his third season, Robbins adds. Davis struggled over his first two seasons, averaging just 4.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .394/.282/.549 shooting in 78 combined games (13.3 MPG). However, he reworked his shooting form over the summer with his personal trainer in Wisconsin. “The past two years,” Davis told The Athletic on Sunday night, “a development coach from each year has been tinkering with my shot, messing with it. So I came back into this year, and I said, ‘Nobody is touching my jump shot. I’m just going to leave it as it is, leave it comfortable.’ And they’ve left me alone about it. So, it feels really good right now. I’ve been working on it the whole summer, so I’m just glad to see it pay off.”
- While it’s encouraging that Davis seems to have rediscovered some of what made him a former lottery pick (No. 10 overall in 2022), he’s still deep on the depth chart. Robbins wouldn’t be surprised if the Wizards decline their fourth-year options on Davis and Patrick Baldwin Jr., pointing out that neither player was drafted by the current front office. If that comes to fruition, both players would be unrestricted free agents in 2025.
- The Hornets dealt with a plethora of injuries to key players last season. In their preseason opener, they had four players out: Mark Williams (left foot), Grant Williams (right hamstring), Cody Martin (right wrist, thumb) and Nick Smith (left groin strain). Head coach Charles Lee doesn’t seem worried about any of the injuries though, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “No concerns,” Lee said. “Everything seems like it’s minor injuries at the moment — some nicks, some bruises. Unfortunately, Grant is another guy that kind of tweaked his hamstring in the preseason, but he was a full participant in camp. There are no worries from my standpoint because a lot of these guys are following their return to play plans and it seems like they’re in a really good place.” Mark Williams is set to be reevaluated on Thursday, while Smith will be checked out in a week.
Southeast Notes: Bryant, Wizards, Williams, Bridges
Trading newly re-signed big man Thomas Bryant isn’t an option for the Heat at present, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber-only link).
The 27-year-old big man doesn’t become trade-eligible until December 15, when most players signed to new contracts this offseason can be dealt. Bryant inked a one-year, $2.1MM veteran’s minimum deal to return to Miami for a second straight year.
Bryant appeared in just 38 contests (four starts) for Miami, as he was toggled in and out of head coach Erik Spoelstra‘s rotations. All told, the 6’10” center averaged 5.7 points on 57.7% field goal shooting and 87.2% foul line shooting, along with 3.7 rebounds, in 11.6 minutes of action.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards are fully embracing their rebuild this season, writes Joshua Robbins of The Athletic. During a preseason press conference on Thursday, top Washington executives Michael Winger and Will Dawkins spoke of their long play for relevance this year. “If we’re really to think about it, the phases of the rebuild… there’s the deconstruction phase,” Dawkins said. “There’s the laying-the-foundation phase. There’s the building it back up, and then there’s fortifying what you build. We’re still focused on deconstructing and laying that foundation. And I think that’s important to remind everyone, that we’re still early (in the process).” The team finished 15-67 in 2023/24, and made a pair of lottery picks this summer in big man Alex Sarr and point guard Carlton Carrington. Washington also acquired the draft rights to wing Kyshawn George, selected later in the first round. The Wizards will also be looking for internal growth from intriguing second-year small forward Bilal Coulibaly, their 2023 lottery selection.
- The Magic are set to pay tribute to recently deceased co-founder and longtime front office executive Pat Williams this season, the team announced via press release. Orlando players will wear patches with the initials “PW” on their jerseys. Williams served as the Magic’s general manager from their inaugural season in 1989/90 through 1996. He was subsequently promoted to a role as the club’s senior vice president.
- Recently re-signed Hornets forward Miles Bridges had options from several other clubs in free agency this summer, but wanted to remain in Charlotte, he told Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “With coach (Charles) Lee and the new coaching staff coming in, new management, I just feel like we are stepping in the right direction. And I just feel like I wanted to be a big part of that.” Bridges named the Clippers and Cavaliers as two of the teams that expressed interest in him. “Yeah, the Clippers are a great organization,” Bridges said. “They wanted me, the Cavaliers wanted me. But at the same time I was just trying to see what was the best fit for me, and what would make me and my family happy.”
Olympic Notes: Kawhi, Durant, Coulibaly, Germany
The decision to remove Kawhi Leonard from the roster for the U.S. Olympic team was made by USA Basketball, managing director Grant Hill told reporters this week (story via Tim Bontemps of ESPN). Reports on Wednesday suggested that Leonard’s camp had expressed concerns to Team USA about the forward’s knee, but Hill took responsibility for the move to replace Leonard with Derrick White.
“We just felt that we had to pivot, and not to get into the particulars, in terms of what went into the decision, but we just felt it was in our best interest, but also in the Clippers’ and Kawhi’s best interest, to move into a different direction,” Hill said. “We tried. I think we all tried and we gave it a valiant effort, and unfortunately, we have to move forward.”
Asked directly if Team USA made that call, Hill replied, “We did. Ultimately he was sent home, but we were in conversation with the Clippers on that.”
Another one of Team USA’s forwards – Kevin Durant – is dealing with an injury of his own, but Hill expressed optimism that KD’s calf strain won’t keep him sidelined for much longer. It’s unclear if Durant will actually play in either of the team’s exhibition games in Abu Dhabi, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). However, it sounds like he’ll return to practice soon.
“Durant will be on the plane, unless you know something,” Hill said. “He has been working, rehabbing, he’s looked great. I think we’re just being cautious and conservative. I think we expect to see him on the court when we’re in Abu Dhabi.”
Here’s more on Team USA and the upcoming Olympics:
- Team USA looked just fine without Leonard and Durant on Wednesday in an exhibition game against Team Canada. While the U.S. struggled offensively, the team played excellent defense against a strong Canadian roster led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray and won by a comfortable 86-72 margin. A panel of ESPN experts shares their takeaways from that game, while Bontemps passes along post-game quotes from head coach Steve Kerr and a handful of U.S. players about their performance.
- Speaking to Bontemps (YouTube link), Durant pushed back on the idea that he, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry are viewing the 2024 Olympics as a “last hurrah” or “farewell tour” playing for Team USA. “These guys are still playing at an elite level,” Durant said. “I feel like ‘Bron could play four or five more (seasons), he might be here in 2028 in L.A. Steph’s still playing great ball. I’m doing alright too. So I don’t want to look at it that way. I think we’ve still got some good ball in the tank.”
- Still just 19 years old, Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly will get the opportunity this summer to represent the French national team at the Olympics in his home country. He tells Sapna Bansil of The Washington Post that he views it as a “once-in-a-lifetime moment” and that he’s enjoying being able to reunite with former Metropolitans 92 teammate Victor Wembanyama. “I forgot how easy it was to play with him,” Coulibaly said. “… Even with the friendly games, he’s been doing his thing, I’ve been doing my thing. We just complement each other very well.”
- Coming off a gold medal at the 2023 World Cup, Germany has finalized its roster for the Paris Olympics, formally announcing the 12-man group in a press release. As expected, NBA veterans Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, and Daniel Theis are among the headliners.
Olympic Notes: France, Japan, Spain, Flagg, Brooks
The host nation for the 2024 Olympics officially confirmed its roster for the Paris games, announcing a 12-man squad headlined by centers Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs and Timberwolves, respectively (Twitter link).
Besides France’s twin towers, other NBA players on the French squad include Clippers forward Nicolas Batum, Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly, and free agent swingman Evan Fournier. Nando De Colo, Frank Ntilikina, and Guerschon Yabusele are among the other players on the team who have previous NBA experience.
As first reported by Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of BeBasket on Sunday (via Twitter), France’s final two cuts were also former NBA players — guards Elie Okobo and Theo Maledon won’t be on the 12-man roster for Paris.
Here are a few more notes on the upcoming Olympic games:
- As expected, Japan’s official 12-man roster for the Olympics is headed up by Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and six-year NBA veteran Yuta Watanabe (Instagram link). Former Nebraska Keisei Tominaga, who recently agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, is another notable name on the 12-man squad.
- After winning their Olympic qualifying tournament over the weekend, Spain is making just one change for the Olympics, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes. Veteran wing Alex Abrines, who played in the NBA with Oklahoma City from 2016-19, has been medically cleared to play following an injury and will replace 2024 Spurs second-round pick Juan Nunez for the Olympics. The full roster, which includes Santi Aldama of the Grizzlies and the Hernangomez brothers, can be found right here (Twitter link).
- Incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg said over the weekend that he was “pretty surprised” to be invited to be part of the Select Team for the U.S. training camp in Las Vegas, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. However, Flagg was the talk of that Vegas camp, earning rave reviews from players and coaches alike, according to Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic. Select Team assistant coach Jim Boylen referred to the 17-year-old as “unbelievable,” while teammate Jaime Jaquez said Flagg was “playing out of his mind.” Flagg is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. “He showed no fear,” Jalen Duren said. “He came and worked hard every day. You would think he’s already here, you know what I mean?”
- After defeating Team USA with the Canadian national team for bronze at the 2023 World Cup, Dillon Brooks is eager to face a more star-studded U.S. in Wednesday’s exhibition game in Las Vegas, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I take it as (just) another game, but me being who I am, I like to make a statement,” Brooks told reporters on Monday. “So I’ll be ready to play. Team Canada will be ready to play, and we’re gonna go balls to the wall and watch the film after and see if we got better.”
Southeast Notes: Heat, Coulibaly, Flowers, Anthony
No matter when the NBA Finals wrap up, the Heat figure to be one of the league’s most active teams on the following day, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. A change in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement gives teams a window to negotiate with their upcoming free agents from the end of the Finals until the league-wide start of free agency on June 30.
For Miami that means a chance to work out new deals with Haywood Highsmith, Patty Mills and Delon Wright before they reach the free agent market. The Heat can also negotiate with two-way players Jamal Cain, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, who will become restricted free agents if they receive qualifying offers by June 29.
In addition, they can hold talks with Caleb Martin ($7.1MM), Kevin Love ($4MM), Josh Richardson ($3.1MM) and Thomas Bryant ($2.8MM), who all hold player options for next season. As Chiang points out, that gives the Heat an opportunity to get some clarity about what their 2024/25 roster might look like before heading into free agency.
Miami is also permitted to begin negotiating an extension with Bam Adebayo, who will become eligible to sign the deal when the leaguewide moratorium ends on July 6. The Heat can pay Adebayo $165MM over three years with a starting salary of $51.2MM for 2026/27, but Chiang states that he might want to wait for a more lucrative deal next summer.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Bilal Coulibaly is hoping to win a spot on the French Olympic team and compete for a gold medal in Paris, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. The Wizards forward was one of 19 players to make France’s preliminary roster, which will eventually be trimmed to 12. Whether he’s in the Olympics or not, Washington has offseason plans for Coulibaly. “He’s got the mindset that this is a massive summer for him,” general manager Will Dawkins said. “Whether he’s playing with us or playing with France, we’ll be involved. We’ll be around and we’ll have a program in place.”
- The Hornets could have interest in Trentyn Flowers, who raised his stock with an impressive athletic showing at the draft combine, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Boone notes that Flowers, who played this season with Adelaide in Australia, has at least 13 pre-draft workouts scheduled. Charlotte holds picks No. 6 and 42, and Boone says there’s still not a clear range of where Flowers might be taken.
- Cole Anthony was disappointed in his performance after signing an extension with the Magic last summer, relays Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. In his fourth NBA season, Anthony posted career lows with 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. “I’m going to work on everything (this summer),” he said. “The biggest thing for me I’m going to work on is just try to take care of my mental health. Whether it’s talking about it, whatever it is, just try to do all I can to have as little distractions on the court next year.”
NBA Announces 2023/24 All-Rookie Teams
The NBA officially unveiled the two All-Rookie teams for the 2023/24 season on Monday (Twitter links). The teams are as follows:
First Team
Chet Holmgren, Thunder- Jaime Jaquez, Heat
- Brandon Miller, Hornets
- Brandin Podziemski, Warriors
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Second Team
- Keyonte George, Jazz
- GG Jackson, Grizzlies
- Dereck Lively, Mavericks
- Amen Thompson, Rockets
- Cason Wallace, Thunder
Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama and Holmgren were unanimous selections to the first team (Twitter link). Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Wembanyama was also the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, with Holmgren receiving all but one second-place vote for that award.
The entire first team mirrored the Rookie of the Year balloting, with Miller, Jaquez and Podziemski coming in third through fifth. Lively received the most points for the second team, followed by Thompson, George, Wallace and Jackson.
Jackson is the only All-Rookie member who wasn’t drafted in the first round; he was selected 45th overall in 2023 and initially signed a two-way contract. He was converted to a standard contract in February.
The current youngest player in the NBA, Jackson didn’t start receiving regular minutes until mid-January. The 19-year-old put up some big numbers down the stretch though, including 31 points and 44 points in the final two games of the season.
Jackson beat out Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis for the final spot on the second team by a single point. Jackson actually received fewer overall votes (38 vs. 42 for Jackson-Davis), but earned the nod by receiving five first-team votes, which were worth two points apiece (second-team votes were worth one point each).
A total of 22 rookies received at least one vote. Aside from Jackson-Davis, the other top finishers who didn’t make the cut were Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (35 points), Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (33), and Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly (14). Ausar is Amen’s identical twin brother.
All-Rookie was one of the awards that didn’t require players to meet the newly instituted 65-game minimum. Jackson, Lively, Thompson, and Wallace didn’t meet that criteria, but they were still eligible for All-Rookie honors.
Olympic Notes: France, Australia, Germany, Brazil
Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the host nation has announced its preliminary 19-man roster (Twitter link). As Eurohoops relays, the headliners on France’s squad are big men Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, the top two finishers in this year’s Defensive Player of the Year vote.
However, there are several more notable NBA names on the list, including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, and Ousmane Dieng. Other recent NBAers who didn’t finish the 2023/24 season on a roster include Killian Hayes, Frank Ntilikina, and Theo Maledon.
One player not on France’s roster is veteran guard Mike James. The 2023/24 EuroLeague MVP is an American, but according to a report from L’Equipe (hat tip to BasketNews.com), the French Basketball Federation explored the possibility of getting a French passport for James, who has played for AS Monaco in France’s LNB Pro A since 2021. That effort didn’t make any real headway, however.
“We do not have the culture of other nations which use naturalized players in a systematic way,” an unnamed executive told L’Equipe. “But we have a duty to explore all possibilities. In this case, we were asked, we looked at it and quickly established that it was not a question.”
The French national team will have to make seven cuts and set a 12-man roster for this July’s event.
Here are a few more updates related to the 2024 Olympics:
- The Australian national team has trimmed its preliminary Olympic roster from 22 players to 17, the Boomers announced in a press release. None of the NBA players on the roster – including Josh Giddey, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Matisse Thybulle, and Dyson Daniels, among others – were among the cuts, but potential 2024 first-round pick Johnny Furphy was. The plan is for those 17 Australian players to attend training camp this summer before setting the final 12-man roster.
- The German national team announced this week that head coach Gordon Herbert won’t continue on in that role after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics (hat tip to Sportando). The two sides are going their separate ways after a fruitful partnership that included a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
- The Brazilian national team has announced its preliminary roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia. The notable names include veteran point guard Raul Neto, former first-round pick Bruno Caboclo, Warriors rookie Gui Santos, and former NBA guard Didi Louzada. The Brazilians will need to win the six-team qualifier to earn a spot in the Olympic men’s basketball tournament.
Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, McConnell, Siakam
Aaron Nesmith (right shoulder soreness) is no longer on the Pacers‘ injury report heading into Game 5 on Tuesday, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Nesmith was listed as questionable for Game 4 before being upgraded to available and logging 24 minutes on Sunday.
Tyrese Haliburton, who is dealing with low back spasms, a right ankle sprain, and a sacral contusion, is once again listed as questionable, Dopirak notes. But like Nesmith, that was Haliburton’s designation before Game 4 as well and he was able to suit up. The star point guard was a +31 in 28 minutes in Sunday’s win, which evened the series at 2-2.
Here are a few more notes on the Pacers ahead of a pivotal Game 5 in New York:
- T.J. McConnell struggled in Game 3 but has otherwise been one of the Pacers’ most effective players in the series vs. New York, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The veteran guard has averaged 12.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in just 21.2 minutes per contest, and Indiana has a +16.0 net rating during his time on the court. “T.J., he’s one of our leaders,” teammate Myles Turner said. “He’s really taken it upon himself to lead that second unit.”
- With the Pacers/Knicks series now essentially a best-of-three, Fred Katz and Eric Nehm of The Athletic pose five pressing questions for the rest of the series, including whether or not New York has run out of gas and which players could be X-factors in the remaining games.
- Asked during a an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) about his claim in a French-language interview that Pacers forward Pascal Siakam is overrated, Wizards youngster Bilal Coulibaly clarified his comments, but didn’t exactly walk them back. “I just said he’s not overrated, but they were asking me who was the easiest superstar to guard,” Coulibaly said. “And I was like, Pascal, I watched the films and I knew what he was about to do, when he was going left, spinning around, going right. So he was the easiest superstar to guard.”
- In a story for The Indianapolis Star, Dopirak takes a closer look at the key roster moves the Pacers made in recent years to build a roster that’s just two wins away from securing a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Schnall, Longstaff, Hawks
The Wizards will have plenty of draft options after landing the No. 2 pick in this year’s lottery, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. General manager Will Dawkins, who was inside the lottery drawing room to learn his team’s fate, admitted there was some slight disappointment in not getting the top selection, but he’s confident about adding another valuable piece to the rebuilding process.
“I would say that there’s a lot of optionality at the top of the draft, and there’s probably not the same level of instant gratification that you can see in year one with some of these rookies,” Dawkins said. “But if you really dive down and have some patience and have a forward-thinking outlook, these players are going to be pretty good players in the NBA a few years from now.”
Last year’s selection of Bilal Coulibaly, who Washington traded up one spot to get, indicates that the front office is prioritizing players who understand the game and possess a strong work ethic, Robbins adds. He identifies G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis, Connecticut center Donovan Clingan, French wing Zaccharie Risacher, French big man Alexandre Sarr and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic as players in this year’s draft class who fit that description.
Coulibaly offered a scouting report on Risacher, whom he faced in France last season.
“Risacher, he’s got a lot of talent, a lot of talent,” Coulibaly said. “I played against him, like, two times last year. A great shot-maker. He can create his own shot. Yeah, a really good player.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- There wasn’t any lottery luck for the Hornets, who had the third-best odds for the top pick but dropped to No. 6 when three teams leapfrogged them, notes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Even though he didn’t get the result he wanted, co-owner Rick Schnall enjoyed his first look inside the lottery room. “It happens really fast and they run it in an incredibly efficient way,” he said. “And your disappointment comes really quickly. But it was interesting and it was good to see who was in the room, watch how the NBA runs it and understand — it might be my last time in there.” Schnall expressed confidence that Charlotte can find a productive player at No. 6 and called the lottery “just another step” in the process of building a competitive team.
- Assistant coach Josh Longstaff will leave the Bulls to become part of Charles Lee‘s staff with the Hornets, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He joins former Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter, who was hired last week.
- Hawks executive David Starkman, the team’s representative in the lottery drawing room, didn’t know how to react when Atlanta overcame long odds to win the No. 1 pick, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The vice president of player personnel wasn’t familiar with what is considered acceptable behavior inside the lottery room. “I wasn’t sure what the protocol is,” Starkman said. “This isn’t the room to celebrate.”
- The lottery win adds $7MM to the Hawks‘ projected team salary and pushes that figure above the first tax apron, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
Southeast Notes: Magic, Anthony, Harris, Hornets, Wizards
The Magic worked their way back from a fourth-quarter deficit to weather a Donovan Mitchell 50-point performance and force a Game 7. Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes that everyone in the rotation made an impact, including Cole Anthony, who had a major bounce-back game after scoring five combined points in the past two games.
“I thought Cole won us the game today,” Franz Wagner said. “He had huge minutes off the bench, making plays on both sides, and that’s what it takes to be successful in the playoffs.”
Anthony played most of the fourth quarter with Gary Harris out, scoring nine points and connecting on a crucial put-back play.
“I’ve lost a lot of trust with my lack of [quality] play this season,” Anthony said. “It’s been a tough year. But, look, at the end of the day, I’m just here to try and help this team win. That’s the cure-all for everything is a ‘dub.’ And we got a ‘dub’ tonight. Magical.”
Orlando hasn’t been able to defeat the Cavaliers in Rocket Mortgage Arena in the playoffs this season. In three games, the Magic are shooting 38% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc in Cleveland. Even still, they’re embracing the challenge.
“I can’t wait to go out there and play in Cleveland, a hostile environment, one where we haven’t won one yet, where all the odds are stacked against us,” Suggs said. “It’s just everybody here on this roster, everybody on our bench, a couple family behind the bench against an entire city. And I don’t think none of us want it any other way.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Individual play from Anthony and other players like Markelle Fultz and Moritz Wagner mattered as much as the 75 combined points from Paolo Banchero (27), Franz Wagner (26) and Jalen Suggs (22) did in Game 6, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes. The Magic need to continue their “by committee” approach when it comes to Game 7, Beede writes.
- Even though Harris missed Game 6 with a hamstring strain, he wasn’t far off from returning. “Gary was close,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said (Twitter link via Beede). “He’ll come in [Saturday], get a little bit of treatment and we’ll re-evaluate him after that.“
- With a crucial offseason looming, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer takes a look at which Hornets players might stay or go for the 2024/25 season. While Boone thinks newcomers Tre Mann and Grant Williams played themselves into a role for next year’s team, several projected reserves like Bryce McGowens, Vasilije Micic, Nick Richards and JT Thor could be on the move, either in free agency or via trade.
- The Wizards had a franchise-worst win percentage this season, but no team has better odds for the top pick in the draft, and Washington’s roster features several intriguing young players. Ahead of a season in which major growth from these players is expected, Monumental Sports Network’s Chase Hughes evaluates what a few of them said they plan to work on this season. “This offseason I’m trying to improve on my shooting, getting my shot up a little bit quicker,” 2023 No. 7 overall pick Bilal Coulibaly said. “Creating my own shot, too, so being able to dribble the ball a little bit more and better. Handle the ball better. That would be a good part.“