World Cup Updates: Lithuania, Joseph, Nigeria, France
The Lithuanian national team has announced its roster for the 2019 World Cup, according to Donatas Urbonas, who tweets that the 12-man squad will include Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas and Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt. Former Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas is also on the roster.
Lithuania is viewed as a contender to make a deep run in this year’s tournament, but it won’t have an easy path to even make it out of the first round. The Lithuanian national team is part of a group that also includes Australia, Canada, and Senegal — only two of those clubs will advance to the round of 16.
Here’s more on the 2019 World Cup, which will tip off in just four days in China:
- Speaking of Team Canada, head coach Nick Nurse said after the team’s exhibition loss to Team USA on Monday that he still expects Kings point guard Cory Joseph to join the squad in China for the World Cup itself (video link via Olgun Uluc of FOX Sports Australia). “As far as I know, he is,” Nurse said. “I exchanged a text with him a little earlier today and he said he was getting on a plane [on Tuesday]. He said he’d see me there.”
- Nigeria has set its 12-man roster for the World Cup, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Josh Okogie (Timberwolves), Al-Farouq Aminu (Magic), Chimezie Metu (Spurs), Ekpe Udoh, and Ike Diogu are among the current and former NBA players representing Nigeria.
- Team France’s 12-man roster for the 2019 World Cup features plenty of familiar NBA names too, including Rudy Gobert (Jazz), Nicolas Batum (Hornets), Evan Fournier (Magic), and Frank Ntilikina (Knicks). New Celtics center Vincent Poirier and former NBA players like Nando De Colo and Axel Toupane made the team as well.
- Venezuela’s national team also announced its 12-man World Cup roster.
- Without a “proven bailout option” to score crucial buckets in big moments, Team USA doesn’t have a significant margin of error in this year’s World Cup, opines ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
And-Ones: Durant, Superteams, French National Team
Multiple teams around the NBA still consider Kevin Durant a talent worth investing max money in, despite the ruptured Achilles that will sideline him through 2019/20. Ben Golliver of the Washington Post weighs in on several franchises that could entertain the idea this summer.
Golliver writes that the Clippers, backed by billionaire Steve Ballmer could afford to sign Durant, tinker with the impressive lineup that led them to the postseason this spring, and then hit the ground running with Durant in 2020/21. That’s a scenario that would be ever dreamier if they were able to land Kawhi Leonard this summer as well.
Of course Durant’s absence next season will still have some impact on his value. Could the revelation that Durant won’t play in 2019/20 derail a potential pairing with Kyrie Irving in New York? Would Irving prefer instead to work with a different star in Brooklyn?
These are questions we’ll get answers to eventually but for now one thing is clear, Durant’s value remains high but that’s not to say that his Achilles hasn’t still thrown the league for a loop.
There’s more from around the league:
- Is this the beginning of the end of the Superteam Era? Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN wonders as much in a video released on Instagram, suggesting players around the league are showing a greater interest in leading their own teams. For the past decade, star players have seemingly gravitated to one another to stack the deck and win championships but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, if the Raptors’ 2019 title plays a small role in the ushering out the Superteam Era, they’ll be walking right back into a climate that saw former Raptor star Tracy McGrady bolt the franchise for the chance to get out of Vince Carter‘s shadow and lead his own Magic squad.
- Former Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas has received interest from a number of NBA teams and has several offers to join teams on non-guaranteed pre-season camp deals, international basketball reported Donatas Urbonas tweets.
- The preliminary French national team for the 2019 World Cup has been revealed and a number of household NBA names will fortify a competitive roster. As seen at Sportando, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier are the biggest names on the preliminary roster but they’re not the only ones with big league credentials.
Western Notes: Morris, Fournier, Kanter, Booker
Celtics forward Marcus Morris believes Thunder coach Billy Donovan made a big mistake by using his brother Markieff Morris sparingly during their playoff series against Portland, Jay King of The Athletic reports.
Markieff Morris chose to play with Oklahoma City after reaching a buyout with New Orleans, which acquired him from the Wizards at the trade deadline. Markieff played just four minutes in Game 5 and between 13 and 15 minutes in the other games of the series won by the Trail Blazers, 4-1.
“I’m not a coach or anything like that, but I feel like they just didn’t utilize their bench enough. I feel like my brother went over there for no reason,” Marcus said. “He never got an opportunity to play. I thought that he would really help them in the playoffs, but from what I seen he should have went somewhere else just to be able to show that veteran leadership and that experience.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Trail Blazers made an offer for Magic swingman Evan Fournier that Orlando passed on prior to the trade deadline, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Portland was willing to ship a roster player and a protected first-rounder for Fournier, who will make $17MM next season and holds a player option on his $17MM salary for the 2020/21 season.
- Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter played with a separated left shoulder in Game 5, Kevin Pelton of ESPN reports. Kanter suffered the injury during the opening quarter but managed to play 32 minutes. He received a pain-killing injection at halftime. Kanter averaged 13.2 PPG and 10.2 RPG in the series as the primary replacement for injured Jusuf Nurkic. Portland would have to rely more on Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard in the conference semifinals if Kanter is forced to miss any games.
- Suns star guard Devin Booker had no input in the firing of coach Igor Kokoskov, GM James Jones told the Arizona Republic’s Katherine Fitzgerald and other media members. “I speak to Devin, I speak to all of our players, about our organization. But in these instances, this isn’t a decision for Devin to make. This is my decision,” Jones said. That’s curious, since Booker indicated after signing his five-year maximum salary extension that he’d have a say in all major moves going forward. I think it’s a collective agreement. Moving forward, throwing in any advice I can, stay in the loop and watch what’s going on and know what’s going on,” Booker said last month.
- The Rockets held a predraft workout on Wednesday that included Mississippi guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, Washington guard Jalyen Nowell and Campbell guard Chris Clemons, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Houston does not currently own a pick in this year’s draft. Nowell is the highest-ranked prospect among the trio, as he’s ranked No. 87 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Deveney’s Latest: Blazers, Harkless, Saric, Matthews
After officially acquiring Rodney Hood in a trade with Cleveland earlier today, the Trail Blazers may not be done dealing, writes Sean Deveney of Sporting News. According to Deveney, some executives around the NBA have suggested that Portland regretted its relative inactivity at last season’s deadline and is more willing to make moves this time around.
Whether the Trail Blazers do anything drastic may hinge on their willingness to move second-year big man Zach Collins, according to Deveney, who says that the team has “resisted inquiries” on Collins so far.
Maurice Harkless is among the Trail Blazers who could be had though, and the team is open to moving its first-round pick as well, per Deveney. Harkless has one more year on his contract after this season, which figures to limit his value — teams like the Knicks and Nets have had interest in him in the past, but won’t want to compromise their 2019 cap flexibility by acquiring him now, Deveney observes.
Here’s more on the Blazers, plus a couple other notes from Deveney on the trade market:
- Nikola Mirotic (Pelicans), Jeremy Lin (Hawks), Evan Fournier (Magic), and JaMychal Green (Grizzlies) are among the players the Trail Blazers have expressed interest in, sources tell Deveney.
- Dario Saric‘s production and playing time has dipped since Ryan Saunders took over as the Timberwolves‘ head coach, and Deveney suggests that it wouldn’t be a shock to see Saric back on the trade block in the offseason, or even this week. “He could be had for a decent offer, a first-rounder and a player,” one league executive told Deveney.
- Deveney reiterates that the Raptors and Rockets are expected to be among the favorites for Wesley Matthews if he’s bought out, as we heard earlier today. The Bucks wouldn’t be among Matthews’ suitors, per Deveney, though Milwaukee hopes to add one more frontcourt piece via trade or free agency.
Magic Veterans Feeling Urgency To Win
The Magic haven’t made the postseason since 2012, but they’re in position to push for a playoff spot this year. While their 20-27 record puts them just 11th in the Eastern Conference, they’re only 2.5 games removed from the No. 8 seed. And, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic details, Orlando’s veterans are feeling pressure to earn a top-eight spot or risk having the roster broken up in the offseason.
“We’re not stupid,” Evan Fournier said on Monday, per Robbins. “We know if we don’t make the playoffs this year, this is probably over for us as a team.”
As Robbins writes, after the Magic fell to 19-27 with Saturday’s loss to the Bucks, Nikola Vucevic conveyed to his teammates that there wasn’t much room for error if the club wants to reach the postseason. According to Fournier, Vucevic said that the Magic’s next three games – starting with last night’s win over the Hawks – “were basically our season” and that they needed to come out with some urgency.
“I just told the team that this is it,” Vucevic said. “These next couple of games we have to get some wins. Otherwise, it’s going to be very, very hard for us to achieve our goal to get to the playoffs. I just wanted to make sure that they understand that, that every game going forward for us is a big game. But it has to be done now.”
Fournier has another guaranteed season on his contract after this year, plus a player option for 2020/21, so he could return to the Magic even if the club shakes things up this summer. However, Vucevic and Terrence Ross will be unrestricted free agents, and if Orlando makes major changes, those changes might also involve trading a veteran like Fournier. For his part, the 26-year-old Frenchman says he and his veteran teammates are hoping this isn’t their final run with the Magic.
“We like it here,” Fournier said. “We like to play with each other. We’re starting to get better (as a team), and we’ve been struggling for so long here, we want to see the results. We’ve spent so many times and hours with the Magic. You want to see it work, you know? It’s like when you’re trying to make it work with your wife. You want to make it work. It’s not like you want to change wives. It’s the same thing (with the Magic). So, yeah, of course, we want to have great moments together.”
The Magic will look to build on Monday’s win with games against a pair of Eastern playoff hopefuls on tap for Wednesday (at Brooklyn) and Friday (vs. Washington).
Southeast Notes: Waiters, Fournier, Adebayo, Howard
In order to improve upon their 2017/18 campaign without having made any significant changes this offseason, the Heat had better hope that Dion Waiters, who missed 52 games last season, becomes this season’s Victor Oladipo, opines Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
There are some unquestionable similarities between Oladipo and Waiters. As Winderman notes, both were traded from Oklahoma City, both were top five selections in their respective drafts, and both are now playing for their third NBA franchise.
“You can never predict anything in this league,” Riley said. “You look at what happened last year to Indiana and how good they became getting [Domantas] Sabonis and Oladipo, how they changed, how their mentality changed. They made some good additions. Very few people talk about them.”
Per Winderman, it’s that type of under-the-radar approach from Riley that has defined the Heat’s offseason thus far. Riley seemingly believes that his team is good enough to complete already.
“One thing we have going for us is we have familiarity, we have continuity,” Riley said. “There is a system that’s been intact here. (And) not having Dion Waiters play hardly at all, you’ve got to give it another shot. You can’t just keep ripping things up every year and changing your roster.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Magic shooting guard Evan Fournier is happy with the offseason moves made in Orlando, relays Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel. Specifically, he thinks the team got a steal in being able to draft big man Mohamed Bamba at No. 6 and was particularly happy to see teammate Aaron Gordon re-sign a long-term deal.
- Bam Adebayo, the 2017 first-round selection of the Heat, refuses to be labeled as a center, reports Shandel Richardson of the Sun-Sentinel. So much so that he has been concentrating on his offensive game all summer in order to see more minutes at power forward.
- Per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, John Wall is confident that new Wizards teammate Dwight Howard will be in attendance at an informal (and presumably optional) team minicamp next week.
Seven Teams Discussing No. 4 Pick With Grizzlies
The Grizzlies remain in discussions with a number of clubs about the possibility of a trade involving the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com. Givony identifies the Mavericks, Magic, Bulls, Knicks, Nuggets, Celtics, and Clippers as teams that have shown “varying degrees of interest” in making a deal.
Memphis has been exploring the idea of trading the No. 4 selection throughout the pre-draft process, and would like to include Chandler Parsons‘ unwanted contract in any swap. According to Givony, Parsons would likely be part of any deal Memphis makes involving that fourth overall pick.
Sources tell Givony that the Grizzlies don’t want to move out of the lottery altogether, so teams picking within a few spots of Memphis will likely have the best odds of making a deal, which could be bad news for a club like Boston. According to Givony, the Grizzlies have their eye on Wendell Carter Jr. as a potential target, so they may not want to drop too far — Carter is considered a probable top-10 pick.
A trade involving the Grizzlies and Magic, who hold the No. 6 pick, might appeal to Memphis if Orlando is willing to include Evan Fournier, per Givony. However, the Magic are hesitant to do so, preferring to offer up Bismack Biyombo. We heard earlier on Wednesday evening that the Knicks have considered a move up – perhaps to No. 4 – for Mohamed Bamba.
It’s possible that trade talks will go right down to the wire, since teams interested in moving up will likely want to make sure that their preferred prospect is available at No. 4.
For what it’s worth, Kevin O’Connor reported earlier in the evening (via Twitter) that the Mavs, Magic, Bulls, Knicks, Clippers, and Celtics have also explored the possibility of moving up to No. 3 in a trade with the Hawks. O’Connor suggested that Luka Doncic or Bamba would be the targets in that spot.
And-Ones: NBA Africa Game, Global Camp, Upshaw
Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan and Sixers center Joel Embiid will headline the rosters in this summer’s NBA Africa Game, the league announced today. The event, which will take place on Saturday, August 4 in Pretoria, South Africa, will feature a Team Africa vs. Team World format, with Cameroon native Embiid heading Team Africa and DeRozan representing Team World.
Joining Embiid on Team Africa will be fellow NBAers Al-Farouq Aminu, Bismack Biyombo, Cheick Diallo, Evan Fournier, Serge Ibaka, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Pascal Siakam. DeRozan’s teamates on Team World will include Harrison Barnes, Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Gay, Khris Middleton, and Hassan Whiteside.
Here are a few more odds and ends from across the basketball world:
- A total of 40 draft-eligible prospects from outside the United States will take part in the NBA Global Camp 2018 in Treviso, Italy from June 2-5, the NBA announced on Wednesday. While Luka Doncic won’t attend the pre-draft showcase, there will be plenty of prospects worth watching, including Cedevita forward Dzanan Musa, who is the No. 19 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.
- The mother of Zeke Upshaw, the G League player who passed away earlier this year after collapsing during a Grand Rapids Drive game, has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the NBA and the Pistons of negligence. The suit alleges that the defendants failed to provide the Drive with the “the resources, policies, and procedures reasonably necessary” to prevent or handle Upshaw’s collapse. Noah Trister of The Associated Press has the full story and more details.
- Now that two-way contracts have been in effect for nearly a full year, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days explores what sort of changes we may see to the rules surrounding those contracts in the future.
Southeast Notes: Batum, Fournier, Heat, Wade
In a mailbag piece for The Charlotte Observer, Rick Bonnell argues that despite the frustration voiced by fans over the contract of Nicolas Batum, who’s still owed $76.7MM in guaranteed money over the next three seasons, the Hornets should not even consider waiving the swingman.
That’s because under the new CBA rules, Batum’s salary would continue counting against the Hornets’ cap even after his release, as there is no longer an amnesty provision incorporated into the new CBA. Moreover, the Hornets had more issues this season than Batum.
Instead, Bonnell suggests that Batum’s contract, although troublesome, is not “untradeable,” and that the Hornets should be able to trade Batum away if they are willing to take on some other bad contracts in return.
And in another article for the Observer, Bonnell opines that Batum doesn’t necessarily need to be traded. Rather, the Hornets’ next head coach should look to resurrect Batum’s game, which may mean letting him handle the ball more as arguably the team’s top ball-mover and facilitator.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- After a tough season in which his team finished 25-57 and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, Magic guard Evan Fournier plans on joining his countrymen on the French National Team for the third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers, he tells FIBA.
- In a season-ending piece for the Sun-Sentinel, Ira Winderman gives his thoughts and other information on the 17 players who finished the 2017/18 NBA season as members of the Heat – including two-way players Derrick Walton Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr.
- In another article for the Sun-Sentinel, Winderman compares this upcoming offseason to the summer of 2016, when Dwyane Wade left the Heat for Chicago. Ultimately, Winderman believes that unlike two years ago, it’ll be wholly up to Wade as to whether he wants to play in Miami next season, as long as he’s willing to accept a reasonable contract.
Injury Updates: Griffin, Fournier, Warriors, Wizards
While news of Joel Embiid‘s orbital fracture and surgery has dominated the conversation over the last 24 hours, we have injury updates to pass along on several other notable players around the NBA. Let’s dive in…
- Pistons star forward Blake Griffin has been diagnosed with a bone bruise in his right ankle, the team announced today in a press release. Griffin will be re-evaluated in a week. With just 13 days left in the regular season and Detroit all but eliminated from the postseason race, it wouldn’t be surprising if Griffin doesn’t play again this season.
- Evan Fournier, who has been on the shelf since March 7 due to a sprained MCL, is “unlikely” to return to the court before the end of the 2017/18 season, Magic head coach Frank Vogel said this week (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel). Fournier will head into the summer preparing to enter the third year of his five-year deal with Orlando.
- The Warriors can’t seem to get everyone healthy as the regular season winds down. As Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle details, head coach Steve Kerr said Klay Thompson could return on Saturday from the thumb injury that has sidelined him for over two weeks. However, Andre Iguodala left Thursday’s game in the third quarter with a sore left knee, jeopardizing his short-term availability (link via ESPN.com).
- The Wizards appear to have avoided disaster in the form of Otto Porter and Bradley Beal injuries, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Beal was able to return to Thursday’s game after banging his knee, while Porter’s rolled ankle was dubbed just a “minor” sprain by head coach Scott Brooks.
- The Nuggets, looking to stay alive in the playoff hunt, have a big game on tap Friday night against Oklahoma City, but Gary Harris will be unable to return from his knee injury to play in that game, as Gina Mizell of The Denver Post writes.