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Atlantic Notes: Harden, Knox, Rivers, Birch

October 2nd, 2021 at 3:44pm CST by JD Shaw

Nets superstar James Harden is still working on getting his conditioning back to 100%, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Lewis notes that Harden has fully healed from a hamstring injury sustained during the playoffs — but that his next challenge is getting back into shape.

“He hasn’t really played since the Boston series, and before that, he hadn’t played for a long time either,” head coach Steve Nash explained. So he hasn’t played a lot of basketball, period, since the [2020] bubble. It’s been stop-start for him. He still wants to get his legs under him, and then can feel a few new levels for him to go.”

Brooklyn is poised to re-add Harden to a starting five of Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin this season. The 32-year-old played 44 games with the Rockets and Nets last season, averaging 24.6 points and 10.8 assists per contest.

Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Kevin Knox‘s future with the Knicks remains cloudy entering the season, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Knox only played in 42 games last season (11 minutes per contest), and sources told Berman it was largely due to his low motor and lack of defensive toughness. Knox was drafted by the franchise with the No. 9 pick in 2018.
  • Sixers head coach Doc Rivers helped recruit Andre Drummond and Georges Niang to the team in free agency, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Both Drummond and Niang are expected to provide depth in the frontcourt as bench players this season. “That was the swinger in me wanting to be here,” Niang said of his phone conversation with Rivers. “Just simply because that’s the guy that’s taking me in and out of the game. He had a vision for me, and it aligned with [how] I thought I fit in. He wants to win right away, and so do I. I want to be in a good culture, and that’s what he’s building here. Obviously, when I got off the phone, I was real excited because I thought, before I even made the decision, I had a home here in Philly.”
  • Raptors big man Khem Birch has missed the start of training camp due to health and safety protocols, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets. Birch appeared in 19 games with Toronto last season, averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 30.4 minutes per contest.
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Eastern Contract Details: Lowry, Birch, Heat, Dinwiddie, Niang, More

August 8th, 2021 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Kyle Lowry‘s new three-year, $85MM contract with the Heat is a standard increasing deal, starting at about $26.98MM and rising annually by 5%, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Based on Lowry’s 2021/22 salary, we now know the value of the traded player exception the Raptors created in their sign-and-trade deal with the Heat, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. That TPE will be worth $4,832,848, which is the difference between Lowry’s new salary and the combined cap hits of Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa.

Murphy also confirms that Khem Birch‘s three-year, $20MM deal with the Raptors is a standard increasing contract with no options or partial guarantees — it eats up about $6.35MM of Toronto’s mid-level exception, leaving $3.187MM on that MLE.

Here are more contract details from around the East, courtesy of Smith:

  • As expected, the new deals for Max Strus, Omer Yurtseven, and Gabe Vincent with the Heat are each two-year, minimum-salary contracts with one year guaranteed and the second year non-guaranteed (Twitter link). P.J. Tucker, meanwhile, got a two-year, $14.35MM contract that uses $7MM of Miami’s mid-level exception in year one. Tucker’s second year is a player option (Twitter link).
  • Spencer Dinwiddie‘s three-year contract with the Wizards only has a base value of $54MM, rather than the previously-reported total of $60MM+ (Twitter link). The deal, which features unlikely incentives that could push its value higher, has a partial guarantee worth $10MM (of $18.86MM) in year three.
  • Georges Niang‘s deal with the Sixers came in at $6.765MM over two years, both of which are fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
  • Trae Young‘s five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Hawks includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter link).
  • The numbers are also in for the finalized deals between Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers (Twitter link), Bobby Portis and the Bucks (Twitter link), George Hill and the Bucks (Twitter link), and Danny Green and the Sixers (Twitter link), with no surprises among that group. As expected, Green’s second year is non-guaranteed and Portis has a second-year player option, while Allen and Hill have fully guaranteed salaries.
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Raptors Notes: Lowry, Achiuwa, Dragic, Birch, TPE, Ujiri

August 7th, 2021 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

There was some speculation leading up to free agency that Toronto would make an effort to re-sign veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, but comments made on Friday by the six-time All-Star and by Raptors general manager Bobby Webster suggested both sides felt the time was right to move on, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

“I think the direction Toronto is going in is they want to give the opportunities to (Fred VanVleet), Pascal (Siakam), OG (Anunoby), a couple young guys, the young draft picks they have,” Lowry told reporters. “They have some great core pieces. They’re in great hands and great shape. It was a situation for me where it was an opportunity to do something different… It’s time to turn the page in the book.”

Webster conveyed a similar sentiment: “You probably could see (during the 2020/21 second half) the direction the team was going in, and jumping up in the draft to get the fourth pick, philosophically, I think going young became kind of a more desirable path.”

Once they recognized Lowry would be moving on, the Raptors could’ve decided to let him walk in order to open up cap room to pursue a free agent. However, that path offered less certainty, especially if the team made an offer sheet to a restricted free agent (such as Jarrett Allen) not knowing whether it would be matched. The Raptors preferred to acquire Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa via a sign-and-trade with the Heat, Lewenberg writes.

“Precious is a huge part of this deal for us,” Webster said. “We really liked him last year in the draft so I think that was a huge get in the sense of a young player that we like and fits.”

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Throughout the week, there were rumors that Toronto may try to flip Dragic to a third team after acquiring him via sign-and-trade. Webster said on Friday that’s not Plan A. “Obviously, if we got an offer that was too good to refuse we’d listen but ultimately we want Goran here,” the Raptors’ GM said, per Lewenberg. “He’s happy to be here, obviously he’s been able to carve out a very nice career for himself. Talking to (team president) Masai (Ujiri), talking to everyone here, we’ve watched him a ton and I know a lot of people have seen him kill us. As a basketball player, as a vet, he provides a lot of value to us.”
  • After his new three-year deal with the Raptors was formally announced on Friday, Canadian center Khem Birch told reporters he was focused throughout free agency on returning to the team, as Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. “It feels like a dream come true,” Birch said. “It’s so surreal right now … just one of those free agencies where I knew where I wanted to go. I don’t even know what other teams were interested in me. I just wanted to come here regardless of the price or the years or anything. I just knew this was a great fit. I’m just happy I’m here.”
  • The Raptors will generate a traded player exception as a result of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade to Miami. It’ll be worth somewhere between $4.8MM and $7.7MM, depending on the specific structure of Lowry’s new contract, writes Blake Murphy of The Athletic.
  • Speaking to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Raptors chairman Larry Tanenbaum confirmed that Masai Ujiri‘s new vice chairman title won’t give him an ownership stake in the franchise, but said it reflects his standing in the organization. “I chair the Raptors, but it’s just a recognition that we’re really working together,” Tanenbaum said. “We’re partners.”
  • Tanenbaum added in the same interview that the team’s plan is to have Lowry retire as a Raptor down the road and to retire his number. “He will retire as a Raptor and his number will absolutely go up there,” Tanenbaum said. “The honor will be the first one (for the Raptors) and I love Kyle.”
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Raptors Re-Sign Khem Birch To Three-Year Contract

August 5th, 2021 at 6:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6: The Raptors have made it official with Birch, formally issuing a press release to confirm his new deal.

AUGUST 5: The Raptors have reached a three-year contract agreement with one of their own free agents, center Khem Birch, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

The deal will be worth $20MM. Toronto only held Non-Bird rights on Birch, so it will likely use part of its mid-level exception to re-sign Birch. It’s also conceivable that the Raptors could open up sufficient cap room to make it happen, but if they take back Goran Dragic or another high-salary player in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with Miami, they’ll need to use the mid-level.

Birch joined the Raptors in April after the rebuilding Magic bought him out. He started 17 of 19 regular-season appearances with the Raptors, averaging 11.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 1.2 BPG in 30.4 MPG. The 28-year-old Birch played his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons with Orlando but was mainly used off the bench.

The Raptors waived Aron Baynes on Wednesday, so Birch could compete with Chris Boucher for a starting role with the club.

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Free Agency Rumors: Paul, Caruso, Birch, Green, Heat

August 4th, 2021 at 1:37pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pelicans offered Chris Paul a $100MM contract early in free agency, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on today’s episode of The Hoop Collective podcast. Windhorst believes the Pelicans’ offer helped convince the Suns to add a fourth year to their offer — that fourth year is not guaranteed, but it’s not clear if New Orleans’ offer would have been fully guaranteed either.

According to Windhorst, after new Pelicans head coach Willie Green tried to help recruit him, Paul entertained the idea for some time before ultimately committing to the Suns.

On the same episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne stated that Alex Caruso was willing to go back to the Lakers for three years and $30MM, but that the Lakers weren’t willing to higher than about $7MM per year for the veteran guard. Concerns about an exorbitant luxury-tax penalty factored into that decision, per Shelburne.

We have more free agency rumors:

  • Khem Birch could be nearing a return to the Raptors, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Grange reports that there’s “growing momentum” toward the two sides reaching a deal. The 28-year-old center was extremely productive in his 19 games for the Raptors after coming over in a trade, and has turned himself into a solid starting center over the last couple seasons.
  • Add the Cavaliers to the list of teams interested in Danny Green, reports ESPN’s Jordan Schultz. Schultz also confirms, in a follow-up tweet, that the Lakers remain interested in a reunion with Green, which Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports previously reported. It doesn’t appear the Lakers will be able to offer Green more than the veteran’s minimum though.
  • Following their deal with Victor Oladipo, the Heat remain interested in a low-cost veteran guard who will be healthy at the start of the season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), who names Lou Williams as a player who would “welcome” interest from the team.
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Olympic Notes: Butler, Olynyk, Birch, Bjorkgren, Jokic, Australia

June 17th, 2021 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler will not play for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Butler had an invite but he battled through a variety of ailments this season and had a short turnaround between seasons after Miami surprisingly reached the NBA Finals last summer.

We have more info on this year’s Olympics:

  • The Rockets’ Kelly Olynyk and Raptors’ Khem Birch are among the prominent players not listed among the 24 players Team Canada submitted to FIBA in advance of its Olympic qualifier, Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet tweets. They’re both unrestricted free agents. The Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke is also not on the preliminary list, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. The 24-man roster can be found here.
  • Nate Bjorkgren, who was let go by the Pacers after one season as head coach, will join Nick Nurse’s Team Canada staff, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Bjorkgren was one of Nurse’s top assistants before his stint with Indiana.
  • MVP Nikola Jokic won’t play for the Serbian team at the Olympic qualifier due to an exhausting NBA campaign, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Jokic told Serbian news agency Tanjug, “Simply, the condition of my body requires a longer absence from the court for recovery.” The Denver Post story asserts Jokic won’t play in the Olympics even if his national team qualifies, while an ESPN story says it’s unclear if Jokic would participate in Tokyo.
  • The Australian national team will play exhibitions against Team USA, Nigeria and Argentina in Las Vegas before departing for Tokyo, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets. The 19-man preliminary roster, which will be trimmed to 12, is expected to be loaded with NBA players, including Ben Simmons and Joe Ingles.
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14 NBA Players On Canada’s Preliminary Olympic Qualifying Roster

May 27th, 2021 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Team Canada has yet to secure a place in the men’s basketball event at the Tokyo Olympics, but the club should have a loaded roster as it looks to lock up a spot in a qualifying tournament next month.

Canada Basketball issued a press release today announcing its 21-player preliminary roster for the Olympic qualifier, and the group includes 14 players who finished the season on NBA contracts. Here’s the full list:

Of the seven players who didn’t play in the NBA this season, one (Bennett) is a former first overall pick, another (Nicholson) was also a first-round selection, and a third (Alexander) has NBA experience. Bell-Haynes has played in the G League, while Doornekamp, Ejim, and Nembhard all have extensive experience representing Canada in past international competitions.

Still, a few noteworthy names are missing from the list. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is recovering from a torn ACL and won’t be able to participate. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also dealing with an injury, announcing on Instagram that rehabbing the plantar fasciitis in his right foot will prevent him from representing Team Canada.

Raptors big man Chris Boucher is a third notable omission. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Boucher is focused on rehabbing a knee sprain and wants to make sure he’s 100% healthy heading into 2021/22. He also has a somewhat uncertain contract situation — his $7MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed, though I’d be shocked if he’s not retained.

Even without Murray, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Boucher, Canada Basketball is in position to run out a roster stacked with NBA talent and led by former NBA Coach of the Year Nick Nurse.

While the final roster will depend in part on which players are available, none of the 21 players on the preliminary are on teams expected to still be alive for the conference finals. However, a club like Powell’s Mavericks or Barrett’s Knicks could surprise.

Team Canada will compete against Greece, China, Uruguay, Turkey, and the Czech Republic in a qualifying tournament in Victoria, British Columbia between June 29 and July 4. If the club wins that six-team qualifier, it will be part of the 12-team field in Tokyo and would be a legit contender for a medal.

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Raptors Notes: Birch, Trent, Anunoby, Harris, More

May 16th, 2021 at 7:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Fourth-year center Khem Birch will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, giving him the freedom to sign with any team, but his comments following Sunday’s regular season finale made it sound as if he’d like to stick with the Raptors, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, who tweets that Birch said fit is as important as money in free agency.

“I got lucky,” Birch said of his late-season move from the Magic to the Raptors. “If I would’ve stayed in Orlando people probably would’ve thought I’m just a regular bench big who can’t score. I’m fortunate these guys believed in me.”

After averaging 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 188 total games in Orlando (16.5 MPG), Birch put up 11.6 PPG and 7.2 RPG in 18 games (29.8 MPG) with Toronto and didn’t sacrifice efficiency — his field-goal percentage increased to 55.8% despite the fact that he was attempting a career-high 1.6 threes per game as a Raptor.

Here’s more on the Raptors, who missed the postseason for the first time since 2013:

  • As a restricted free agent who was a key trade-deadline acquisition for the Raptors, Gary Trent Jr. is a good bet to remain with the team, though he indicated today that he’s prepared for any scenario. According to Lewenberg (Twitter link), Trent said he understands that the NBA is a business and that – as an RFA – his future isn’t fully in his hands, but said he’d “definitely” be open to being a Raptor going forward.
  • OG Anunoby said that his injured calf is getting better and that he’s looking forward to carrying over his work this season into the summer, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Anunoby missed the final eight games of the season due to that calf issue.
  • With so many regular contributors injured or resting near the end of the season, many of the Raptors’ bench players have had a chance to shine. As Holly MacKenzie writes for the team’s official site, Stanley Johnson and Jalen Harris each established a new career-high for points in a game in the season’s final week (Harris did it twice).
  • Harris and Malachi Flynn didn’t receive a ton of attention this season compared to other members of the 2020/21 rookie class, but both players look like good fits in the Raptors’ culture and could stick around for a while, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
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Atlantic Notes: Birch, Trent, Hill, Harden

May 1st, 2021 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Center Khem Birch has expanded his game since joining the Raptors and will likely be a priority for the team in free agency, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Birch, who signed with Toronto after being waived by the Magic last month, said the coaching staff has given him a green light to try new things.

“Coach (Nick) Nurse told me today to work on my ball-handling and to go coast-to-coast or even just be a threat in transition,” Birch said. “So it’s stuff I’ve worked on but I’ve never implemented it into my game. But the fact that the coaching staff here allows me to do that type of stuff, you’re right, it is like starting over again.”

Birch has taken over as the Raptors’ starting center and is averaging career highs in points (10.8 per game), rebounds (7.3) and assists (1.4). The 28-year-old was making $3MM this season with Orlando and should be in line for a sizable raise this summer.

“I didn’t expect this much freedom,” Birch said. “Honestly, I just thought I was just going to protect the rim, get rebounds and everything else. I wasn’t expecting this kind of freedom now. I was kind of expecting it maybe next season or something like that, but not right now.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Raptors swingman Gary Trent Jr. will miss both games this weekend, but the team hopes to have him back Tuesday or Thursday, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Trent hasn’t played in a week because of a bruised left leg.
  • George Hill is making a difference for the Sixers as a ball-handler and veteran presence off the bench, according to Ky Carlin of USA Today’s Sixers Wire. Philadelphia had to wait for Hill, who was acquired at the trade deadline but was unavailable until Monday because of a sprained right thumb. “Having George is just another vet who can really just talk to the guards and explain certain plays, offense and defense,” Dwight Howard said. “How to defend, how to get set up in pick-and-rolls, and get our offense going, and what plays we want to run and stuff like that.”
  • Nets coach Steve Nash told reporters Friday that he’s not sure if James Harden will play any more during the regular season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Harden has missed the past 13 games with a strained right hamstring and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back soon. “I just don’t want to make a guess one side or the other because I don’t think it serves anyone, because it’s out of our control,” Nash said. “We’re really waiting to see how he responds and how he heals and how quickly he gets there and then how quickly can he handle high-intensity, NBA-level work. I’ll have to say we’ll see. But both are possible.”
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Atlantic Notes: Harden, Knicks, Jordan, Burks, Birch

April 28th, 2021 at 3:51pm CST by JD Shaw

Nets superstar James Harden still isn’t close to returning from a hamstring injury that has forced him to miss 11 straight games, Brian Lewis writes for the New York Post. Harden has taken minor steps in his recovery, but hasn’t done any high-intensity work.

“He’s here with us traveling,” coach Steve Nash said of Harden. “He was shooting (Tuesday) morning and just starting to build up what his capacity is. He’s not doing any high-intensity stuff, but he’s shooting and doing all his strength and rehabilitation work.

“So positive signs there, but still, I think, a ways to go.”

Despite dealing with injuries throughout the season, Brooklyn currently holds the best record in the Eastern Conference at 42-20. The team will be seeking its fourth straight win in a road game against the Pacers on Thursday night.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division today:

  • Anthony Olivieri of ESPN.com details the Knicks‘ secret pursuit of Bulls legend Michael Jordan during his playing days. Jordan ultimately bypassed joining New York, spending 13 seasons with Chicago and two seasons with Washington.
  • Knicks guard Alec Burks has rejoined the team after a stint in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the club announced on social media. Burks has averaged 12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds in 44 contests (25.8 MPG) this season, but has missed the team’s last six games.
  • Raptors center Khem Birch has fit in well with his new club in limited time, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Birch most recently finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in a win over the Cavaliers, playing well on both ends of the floor. “He’s been a good factor here,” coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “I thought he was solid, too, defensively. I can remember maybe one double-team he went a little too quick on that they cut back door on us, but other than that, he was pretty mistake-free down there, too. So good game for him. He’s stringing ’em (together), playing well.”
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