Kevin Durant

Pacific Notes: Durant, Walton, Beverley, Joerger

Kevin Durant‘s poor temper could prove costly for the Warriors down the stretch of the playoffs, with the two-time NBA Finals MVP already accruing two technical fouls in the first game of the postseason, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports writes.

According to NBA rules, a player will receive a one-game suspension if he reaches seven technical fouls during the playoffs. Durant was one of the league’s leaders with 15 techs during the regular season, often times expressing his displeasure with missed calls or getting into it with opposing players. In Game 1 on Saturday, it was Clippers guard Patrick Beverley who got in Durant’s head, leading to both players being ejected.

“Oh, sure, we took the bait,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Durant’s ejection, according to Haynes. “[Kevin] took the bait. That’s two technicals. You get seven technicals, your seventh one is a suspension in the playoffs. Whether you play four playoff games or 24, seven is the magic number. He’s got four to play with after one game. But that’s what Beverley does. We talked about it for the last couple days. He’s a hell of a defender. He plays hard. Got a lot of respect for him.”

The Warriors are seeking their fourth championship in five years and need Durant’s production, sporting an elite starting lineup that consists of him, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins. The team took a 121-104 victory in Game 1 despite Durant being ejected, though it’s imperative he maintains his composure as the team looks to make a deep playoff run.

“I’ve been playing against Pat Beverley since he was at Arkansas, so I kind of know what he brings,” Durant said. “He’s a Chicago kid, grew up and played in the Chicago area, so those dudes play with a different type of grit, so I can appreciate that about Pat. You know what he’s going to bring to the table, just physicality, the mucking up the game a little bit with his physicality, his talking, everything. That’s what he brings to each team he plays on. That’s his identity, and they support him with the Clippers. For me, I know that coming into the series. I thought it was fun tonight.”

There’s more out of the Pacific Division tonight:

  • Jason Jones of The Athletic examines how new head coach Luke Walton could make the Kings a better team. Walton, who was hired by the team one day after mutually agreeing to leave the Lakers, holds a strong record with several NBA players and officials. He was an assistant on the Warriors’ 2015 championship team, proving his worth as a coach under Steve Kerr and registering interest from multiple teams around the league at the time — including the Kings.
  • Clippers coach Doc Rivers had a problem with Patrick Beverley‘s play earlier in the season, eventually leading to a positive turning point for the team, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times wrote. “Early in the year we struggled with Pat,” coach Doc Rivers said last week, “because he was struggling buying in.” Beverley has since bought in, leading the Clippers at the point guard position and helping the team obtain a 48-34 record on the season.
  • The Kings’ sudden decision to fire head coach Dave Joerger caught him by surprise, agent Warren LeGarie told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “Obviously, it’s a great disappointment,” LeGarie said as part of a larger statement. “Dave thought, in light of the youth of the team and other challenges, he did a good job, certainly one that other people have recognized around the league. And, more importantly, exceeded expectations.” Joerger spent full three seasons with Sacramento as coach before being dismissed.

Pat Riley Speaks On State Of Heat

James Johnson and Dion Waiters would be entering free agency if things had gone differently for the Heat in the summer of 2017, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

At a press conference today, team president Pat Riley said he would have signed both players for two seasons instead of four if Miami had been able to land free agent targets Kevin Durant or Gordon Hayward. Once Durant picked the Warriors and Hayward signed with the Celtics, Riley agreed to longer contracts with both Johnson and Waiters.

“On July 1, I didn’t want to be left with nobody,” he said. “After five days of Gordon having to make a decision, I didn’t want to lose some players we had. I do know James had a deal [elsewhere if Miami didn’t sign him]. It was my decision. I didn’t want to lose all three of them.”

That decision left the Heat with two more expensive contracts that could help push the team $35MM above the cap next season, assuming Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic both opt in.

“We weren’t thinking of room after we lost Kevin Durant and Hayward,” Riley said. “We were thinking we had that 30-11 team come back [Miami’s record in the second half of the 2016/17 season]. We thought the contracts we gave were long-term contracts. That’s on me. You can put that all on me. We didn’t land Hayward and I didn’t want [to lose] the other two guys.”

Riley covered a wealth of topics during today’s session with the media. Here are a few, courtesy of Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald:

  • Even if the Lakers were to make an offer, Riley won’t consider going to L.A. to take over for Magic Johnson. “There’s no doubt that I have a history with that team,” he said. “I have a lot of friends inside the organization. … But I’m not going to be a part of that.”
  • Riley wants coach Erik Spoelstra to find ways to get Whiteside and Bam Adebayo on the court at the same time. Despite being Miami’s highest-paid player, Whiteside averaged just 17 minutes per night over the final 19 games.
  • Riley said Waiters was slowed all season after ankle surgery and was “playing this year on 1 1/2 ankles.” He added that conditioning will be vital for Waiters next season. “I talked to him yesterday,” Riley said. “He knows. He has five months. If he gets his conditioning to world class condition, he can get back [to where he was for 25 excellent games two years ago]. I’m confident he will do it. His career is on the line.”
  • No matter what happens, tanking won’t be part of the Heat’s plans, Riley insists, noting how hard it is to fall into the bottom five in the league.
  • Riley encourages Udonis Haslem to take some time to decide whether he wants to return next season. Haslem has barely played over the past three years, but the Heat are willing to give him a roster spot for the veteran leadership he provides.
  • Duncan Robinson and Yante Maten, who were both signed through 2020/21 in the closing days of the season, may have a future with the team. “I give Duncan and Yante As,” Riley said. “They dominated the [G-League] the way you want them to dominate. That was the best team in the league for a while. We think both of them can develop and you don’t know how far they can go.”
  • Unless they get lucky in the lottery, the Heat will have the 13th pick in the draft, but Riley is optimistic they can find a contributor there. “I am not going to name names, but I’ve seen 30 players that are very good players,” he said. “At 13, I do think we would get something equivalent to who we have on our team right now, Bam, Justise [Winslow], Josh [Richardson] and Derrick Jones Jr.
  • Riley called Dwyane Wade‘s final season “pure love” as the Heat said goodbye to their all-time leading scorer.

Jeanie Buss Has Faith In Lakers’ Front Office Despite Lost Season

The Lakers failed to put the right pieces around LeBron James during year one of The King’s reign in Los Angeles. Despite the disappointment, owner Jeanie Buss still has complete faith in both team president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka, a source close to the situation tells Bill Oram of The Athletic.

The two executives have had their share of missteps during their time with the team. For instance, as Oram details, when the Lakers signed James, neither Pelinka or Johnson put in the kind of research that rival organizations typically do when landing a top star.

When the Celtics traded for Kyrie Irving, the team made calls to former coaches and those around him in pursuit of intel on the point guard. Had the Lakers put in that type of work, they may have known, for example, that LBJ playing off the ball wasn’t going to be something they should plan around even if the four-time MVP had signed off on the strategy during July 2018 discussions.

The team will chase stars like Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson this summer, though the Lakers don’t appear to be atop any of those players’ lists, per Oram’s piece, which Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, Sam Amick, and Frank Isola also contributed to.

The thinking process may be shifting behind the scenes in Los Angeles as a result of the lack of interest in the Lakers. “You don’t need names, you need games,” a source close to James tells Oram. That differs from Johnson declaring last year that this summer would bring another superstar.

Regardless of which players the Lakers roster, Luke Walton is unlikely to coach them. Johnson clashed with Walton throughout the season with tension rising during an early-season meeting. Oram writes that Johnson delivered Walton with a “closed-door tongue lashing.” From that point on, Walton had reason to be concerned about his job security.

According to Isola, the Lakers reached out to former Bucks coach Jason Kidd during the season. However, a high-ranking official within the organization refutes the claim.

Oram shares more details from a lost season in the extensive piece, which is worth a read on its own. Here are some more of the highlights:

  • Kyle Kuzma was told prior to his trip to Charlotte for All-Star weekend that he would be a key part of the Lakers and that unless the team was acquiring one of the league’s best three players, it wasn’t trading him. Pelinka delivered a similar message to Larry Nance Jr. prior to the deadline last season. According to Oram’s source, Pelinka reassured Nance of the team’s plan for him and told the big man to buy the house he was pursuing in Los Angeles — Nance luckily was unable to complete all the necessary steps to buying the home before the team traded him to Cleveland.
  • Some within Walton’s circle felt that agent Rich Paul was attempting to use the Anthony Davis saga to get the team to fire Walton. If the team acquired Davis, the franchise would need a more decorated coach. However, the Lakers heard through back channels that Davis liked Walton and that bought the coach more time.
  • Members of the Lakers’ coaching staff had hoped that management would bring back the Julius RandleBrook Lopez pairing last offseason. The team allowed both to walk in free agency. Sources tell Oram that Walton and his staff were not consulted about potential free agent targets last year until late in the process.
  • Oram writes that Johnson is seen as an “absentee executive,” as evidenced by Johnson’s lack of response when LaVar Ball made allegations that Walton was losing control of the locker room last season. Johnson was in Hawaii at the time and didn’t publicly back his coach.
  • Pelinka has been active in his involvement with the Lakers. He’s hands-on with scouting and coaches’ meetings, though his level of micromanagement has drawn criticism.
  • Johnson caught the attention of James for his comments during an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio. Johnson said the team needed to get the ball out of James’ hands because otherwise, the situation would be “Cleveland all over again and we don’t want that.” LBJ publicly said he wasn’t sure what Johnson meant.

Warriors Owner Not Stressing Over Durant’s Future

Warriors owner Joe Lacob isn’t stressed out about Kevin Durant‘s impending free agency, as he told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

Lacob says the franchise will do everything in its power to retain Durant, who is expected to decline his $31.5MM player option in order to re-enter the free agent market. But Golden State’s owner isn’t having any sleepless nights over the possibility of Durant bolting.

“I honestly don’t even think about it,” Lacob said. “I don’t. Because there’s nothing I can do about it. Zero. He has earned the right to be a free agent. He’s going to make the choice that feels best for him. And it’s our job to, when the season’s over, convince him that the right decision is to be a Warrior for life.”

Durant could sign with Golden State for five years and approximately $221MM or receive a max of four years and $164MM elsewhere. Lacob believes the extra money and built-in selling points will be all the incentives the superstar forward needs to re-sign.

“Look, we can pay him the most money. We have a great team. We have great coaching,” he said. “We have great fans. I don’t think anyone can match us, when you take everything into consideration, if that’s the way you’re thinking about it. And he has a chance to win — and let’ s hope it goes well this year — a chance to win more championships. I mean, it could be legendary. If he stays here … I don’t know that you get this kind of opportunity very often. So I would hope that he thinks that and accepts that and decides he wants to stay.”

If Durant leaves, Lacob will harbor no ill feelings.

“I’m not going to be mad at him, either way,” he said. “Whatever he decides to do, he decides to do. And I’ll probably be a Kevin Durant fan no matter what. I’m not going to be emotional about it. There’s no point.”

Knicks Notes: Durant, Thomas, Mudiay, Letter

Rich Kleiman is an NBA agent with only one client, but he’ll get plenty of attention this summer, especially in New York, writes Stefan Bondy of The Daily News. If Kleiman, a native New Yorker, can deliver Kevin Durant to the Knicks, he might be in line for a front office job as well, as a commission.

Kleiman and Durant go into detail about their relationship in newly released episodes of the ESPN series, “The Boardroom.” Durant says he was seeking guidance with his career in 2007 when he met Kleiman at a concert. They became friends, but their business partnership didn’t happen until 2013, making Kleiman his third agent in five NBA seasons. Durant also explains that he left the Thunder for the Warriors in 2016 because he wanted “another challenge,” possibly offering hope to the Knicks that he might view this offseason the same way.

“For us, it was stepping into a new chapter,” Durant said. “Let’s see how much we can conquer this totally, all the way around, not just on the basketball court, but as much as we can do in the community, as much as we can do for our businesses as well and obviously me as a basketball player.”

There’s more from New York:

  • The Knicks are two losses away from the worst season in franchise history, bringing back bad memories for Lance Thomas, who was part of the team that set that record in 2015, Bondy adds in a separate story. “Nobody in any competitive setting likes to lose,” Thomas said. “But it takes a tough-minded individual to keep focus and to make sure things are done the right way to change things around. Myself, I’ve just been constantly working and pushing the guys to have the mindset I have.”
  • Coach David Fizdale is dropping hints that Emmanuel Mudiay has played his last game for the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Fizdale kept Mudiay on the bench Friday with a sore shoulder and said afterward that he didn’t want to take the chance of Mudiay aggravating the injury with free agency upcoming. “I think about these guys’ careers from the standpoint of, we’re not going to the playoffs, this kid has now established himself and put himself in position to have an offseason where multiple teams are going to want to talk to him,’’ Fizdale said. “I don’t want to risk that after that he’s done so much to get to where he is.” The Knicks have other plans with more than $70MM in cap space, and Dennis Smith Jr. appears to be the point guard of the future unless Kyrie Irving comes to New York.
  • The letter the Knicks sent to season ticket holders touting the team’s free agent prospects was a mixture of optimism and caution, Steve Popper of Newsday.

Beck’s Latest: Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Knicks, LeBron, Durant

In his latest article for Bleacher Report, Howard Beck looks ahead to an upcoming offseason that figures to feature a four-team, big-market battle for many of the NBA’s star free agents. The Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, and Nets aren’t the only four clubs that will have the cap space necessary to add one or two maximum-salary players, but they’re the clubs most frequently cited as top destinations for those stars.

While the Knicks and Lakers are popular choices to land marquee free agents, Beck asked 10 executives and scouts to evaluate and rank those four New York and Los Angeles teams based on basketball considerations( such as roster, coaching staff, front office, and ownership), and seven placed the Nets and Clips in the top two. Eight ranked the Knicks last.

As Beck explains, the Lakers and Knicks are viewed with skepticism because of doubts about their young prospects, a lack of faith in the Lakers’ management duo of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, and the poor reputation of Knicks owner James Dolan.

“Brooklyn and the Clippers have a decided advantage over the two marquee names because they’ve done far more in the last few years to position themselves to be sustainable than either New York or the Lakers,” one veteran GM told Beck.

Still, many Lakers and Knicks rivals wouldn’t necessarily be surprised to see those clubs do well in free agency, given the history and “mystique” attached to the two franchises.

“If the Knicks and Lakers get the guys, it means mystique and market really will matter more [than which franchise is run the best],” one GM said. “That’s terrifying.”

Here’s more from Beck’s piece, which is worth checking out in full:

  • LeBron James tells Beck that this will be a “critical summer” for him and the Lakers, and he fully intends to help with recruiting stars to Los Angeles. “I will be as active as I need to be for this franchise to get better. That’s why I came here. I came here to win,” James said. “And obviously, we need to get better, as far as our personnel. We have an opportunity to get better. And there’s a lot of talent out there, and a lot of guys that can help our franchise. So I’ll be as active as I need to be for us to get better and go from there.”
  • One assistant GM is skeptical that any star wings or point guards will want to team with LeBron, suggesting that the team will have to focus on star bigs. Rivals also view the Lakers as behind the curve in areas such as analytics, sports science, and player development, according to Beck. Still, the “glamorous sheen” attached to the franchise can’t be overlooked. “The Lakers can show up with a dead body in the room and not get arrested,” a rival official said. “It’s just the nature of the business we are in that they are perceived in this holy-grail-type situation.”
  • According to Beck, rival executives around the NBA are nearly uniform in their belief that Kevin Durant will end up with the Knicks this summer. While no one knows for sure yet, “virtually everyone believes he’s leaving the Warriors,” Beck writes.
  • Beck adds that it’s also “considered a given in NBA circles” that Durant and Kawhi Leonard won’t seriously consider the Lakers.
  • Despite a widespread belief that the Knicks will land Durant, people around the NBA have far more praise for their cross-town rivals, Beck writes. “I think they’ve turned around the Brooklyn era,” a scout said of the Nets. “They’re one or two steps ahead of the Knicks.” Another executive offered the following assessment: “Who would want to go play with the Knicks? Who are your teammates? [Kevin] Knox isn’t even that good.”

Warriors Notes: Durant, Kerr, Cousins, Curry

Kevin Durant is one technical foul away from a one-game suspension after picking up a pair in last night’s win over the Nuggets, writes Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. The Warriors held a 21-point lead in the third quarter when Durant became upset that no foul was called on a 3-point attempt. He screamed repeatedly at official Zach Zarba, who T’d him up twice and ejected him.

It’s an ongoing problem for a team that has 60 technicals and six ejections on the season. Durant ($15,000), Stephen Curry ($25,000) and Draymond Green ($35,000) were all fined for criticizing the officiating against the Timberwolves last week.

“We can be better in terms of keeping (our) poise, myself included,” said coach Steve Kerr, who has collected six technicals. “You go into each game. You’re excited. But you’re going to yell at the refs. Both teams are, but you have to keep your poise and we’ll have to do a better job in the postseason.”

There’s more Warriors news to pass along:

  • DeMarcus Cousins offered a reminder that he’s still among the NBA’s elite big men in the win over Denver, Medina notes in a separate story. In a matchup with All-Star center Nikola Jokic, Cousins posted 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the Warriors pulled away in a battle of the top two teams in the West. “He kind of goes at every guy that since his injury a lot of people have tried to put some guys before him,” Green said. “He goes at every one of them. It’s personal for him. When you can back that up with the talent that he has, it’s special to watch.”
  • Curry doesn’t have any plans to leave a good situation, relays Marcus White of NBC Sports Bay Area. Asked on a “Today Show” appearance this morning where he sees himself in five years, Curry responded, “Still playing for the Warriors and still hopefully winning championships.” Curry’s current contract expires in 2022, so he would have to re-sign with Golden State to make that happen.
  • Curry credits new contact lenses for his improved shooting of late, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Curry revealed that he’s had vision issues throughout his life, dealing with Keratoconus, which has produced an astigmatism that can lead to blurred vision. “It’s like the whole world has opened up,” he said.

Draymond Green: Durant FA Uncertainty “Not Important”

Kevin Durant‘s uncertain future has been hanging over the Warriors all season long, particularly since a heated on-court confrontation back in November in which Draymond Green reportedly accused Durant of planning to leave at season’s end. However, speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Green suggested that neither KD’s upcoming free agency nor that November incident is a pressing concern in the locker room.

“It’s not important,” Green said. “We’re not about to sit around and walk around, or carry something around, that happened in November.”

Green didn’t deny that this may be Durant’s last season with the Warriors, but tells Amick that he and his teammates are focused on winning their third consecutive championship, regardless of what happens after that in free agency.

“He’s part of it right now,” Green said of Durant. “Whatever happens this summer happens. Whatever the hell he does, he does. If he goes, he goes. If he stays, he stays. But while he’s here, we’re going to win another championship. It’s just that simple. Nothing else matters.”

After signing short-term contracts with the Warriors in each of the last three offseasons, Durant will have full Bird rights this summer, which would allow for a five-year, maximum-salary contract projected to be worth approximately $221MM. He could max out at approximately $164MM over four years with another team.

However, while Durant’s forays into free agency in 2017 and 2018 were viewed as mere formalities due to an expectation that he’d re-sign with the Warriors, his upcoming free agency feels much different. Multiple reports throughout 2018/19 have indicated that people around the league view Durant as more likely to sign with the Knicks than the Warriors this summer.

If Golden State can complete a three-peat this June, Durant would head into July faced with a decision on whether or not to leave a team that hasn’t lost a playoff series since he arrived.

Bogut Joins Warriors, Cousins Day-To-Day

3:25pm: The Warriors have announced that Cousins’ MRI came back clean. He’s being listed as day-to-day, though he has been ruled out for tonight’s game vs. the Spurs and Medina wouldn’t be surprised if he missed Tuesday’s contest vs. the Wolves as well (Twitter link).

In Cousins’ absence, Bogut will play tonight for Golden State, Kerr confirmed earlier today (link via Medina).

8:48am: With Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins set to undergo an MRI on his sore right foot on Monday, newly-added big man Andrew Bogut will join the club earlier than expected, as Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News outlines.

After flying to the Bay Area from Australia, Bogut was initially expected to get settled in – and recover from jet lag – before meeting up with the Warriors when they return from their current road trip later this week. However, with Cousins at risk of missing a game or two, Bogut will be available for Monday’s game in San Antonio, writes Medina.

It’s not clear whether Bogut will immediately play a major role for the Warriors, but if Cousins is unable to suit up on Monday vs. the Spurs and Tuesday in Minnesota, the former No. 1 overall pick could be asked to step in right away.

Nick Friedell of ESPN.com notes that head coach Steve Kerr didn’t sound too concerned about Cousins’ injured foot over the weekend, so the MRI may just be precautionary. The Warriors have played it safe with minor ailments lately, sitting Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant for a couple games apiece after their MRIs came back clean. I’d expect the club to be even more cautious with Cousins, who returned from an Achilles tear earlier this year.

Durant, meanwhile, is expected to return to the Warriors’ lineup on Monday after missing the last two games, Friedell adds.

Cavs Notes: Durant, Chriss, Knight, M. Richardson

Between the day that the Cavaliers beat the Warriors to win the 2016 NBA Finals and the day Kevin Durant opted to sign with Golden State, Cleveland’s then-GM David Griffin gathered his staff and instructed them to look into possible paths to landing Durant, writes ESPN’s Zach Lowe. As Lowe explains, there was a fear after the Finals that KD would head to the Dubs, and even though the Cavs recognized they had little chance of securing a meeting with him, they wanted to do all they could to explore the possibility.

“I don’t believe you can dream big enough in the NBA,” Griffin told Lowe recently, looking back on that 2016 offseason. “You have to go through the exercise.”

Of course, Durant ultimately signed with the Warriors and the Cavaliers didn’t get a meeting. That second part, at least, came as no surprise, since Cleveland was one of just three clubs during the summer of 2016 that ended up staying over the salary cap despite a huge cap spike that created room for 27 other teams. It would have been extremely difficult for the Cavs to create space to sign Durant, and a sign-and-trade with Oklahoma City would have been a long shot, even if the star forward had considered Cleveland.

It’s hard to even view the Cavs’ failed run at Durant an intriguing what-if scenario, since it never got off the ground at all. Still, it’s a reminder that even the league’s most successful teams will do their due diligence to find ways they can add another star and become even more dangerous — even if the road to an acquisition seems improbable.

Here’s more from out of Cleveland:

  • While many NBA observers and fans questioned the league’s decision to suspend Marquese Chriss for a game after he defended himself from a physical attack from Serge Ibaka, Cavs head coach Larry Drew thought it was the right call, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. “Punches were thrown by both guys and I thought the ruling the league made was the right decision,” Drew said.
  • When the Cavaliers acquired Brandon Knight from the Rockets at last month’s trade deadline, he was viewed as the salary dump necessary for Cleveland to secure Houston’s first-round pick. Since his arrival though, Knight has been a regular part of the club’s rotation and has showed flashes of his old self, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. “He’s the Brandon that I remember,” Drew said. “Probably not as explosive as he’s been in the past, prior to the injury, but still a guy who has a tremendous work ethic and he competes. That’s the thing I admire about him and respect about him. He’s a team player and he’s going to give you everything he has when he’s on the floor.”
  • Former Kings and Raptors swingman Malachi Richardson signed a G League contract and has been claimed off waivers by the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s NBAGL affiliate, a league source tells Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Richardson was traded from Toronto to Philadelphia at last month’s deadline and was subsequently waived by the Sixers.