Robert Baker

Southeast Notes: Lillard, Coulibaly, Washington, Williams, McClung

While the Heat continue to explore options to acquire star guard Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers, the NBA eliminated one potential option that could have led to Portland delaying a trade, notes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

As part of the league’s ruling that healthy star players can’t sit out from games, the NBA also prohibited teams from making any long-term shutdown “when a star player stops participating in games or plays in a materially reduced role in circumstances affecting the integrity of the game.”

As Jackson notes, ESPN’s Bobby Marks said the rule specifically precludes Lillard and Portland from mutually agreeing for the seven-time All-Star to stay away from the team while it works on a trade. A punishment for disregarding the rule would involve significant fines, per Marks.

While it’s unclear whether either party was exploring that as an option, it won’t be possible anymore. This is advantageous for the Heat, writes Jackson, who says that Portland must decide whether to play Lillard and risk possible injury, which would diminish his value.

There are still a handful of notable free agent point guards available if the Heat don’t get Lillard, such as the recently released Cameron Payne, but the Heat haven’t been actively pursuing one, Jackson writes. According to Jackson’s source, the Heat could look at options that involve Tyler Herro or Josh Richardson as the starting primary ball-handler if the team is unable to land the star guard.

Of the available free agent point guards, Goran Dragic is a veteran option who spent 2015-21 in Miami. Jackson writes that Dragic has interest in joining the Heat.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Wizards rookie wing Bilal Coulibaly was one of the 2023 draft’s biggest risers, culminating in him being selected with the No. 7 overall pick. Josh Robbins of The Athletic spoke to three anonymous NBA scouts about Coulibaly, who spent part of the last year playing alongside No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. The scouts agreed that athleticism and an impressive defensive toolbox and instincts are among Coulibaly’s strengths, while his shooting and physicality are improvement points. However, all scouts appeared to be high on the 19-year-old’s upside. “The sky’s the limit for him,” one anonymous scout said to Robbins.
  • Hornets forward P.J. Washington re-signed with Charlotte on a three-year, $46.5MM deal in August, nearly two months after free agency began. While there was some speculation about whether Washington would ultimately return to the Queen City, the 25-year-old forward sounds relieved to be back with the Hornets. “It means the world to me,” Washington said in a video posted by the Hornets social media team (Twitter link). “Obviously, back in 2019, Charlotte took a chance on me and I’m just blessed to be in the position I am today.”
  • The Magic announced they signed Brandon Williams and Mac McClung to Exhibit 10 deals on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Orlando’s G League affiliate Osceola Magic acquired the returning player rights to both Williams and McClung. If an Exhibit 10 player is waived by an NBA club before the season begins and spends at least 60 days with that team’s G League affiliate, he can earn a bonus worth up to $75K. This week’s G League trades assure that Williams and McClung can suit up for Osceola this season if and when they are waived by Orlando. Williams was acquired from the College Park Skyhawks in exchange for Joel Ayayi, Robert Baker II and a 2023 G League first-round pick, per the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede (Twitter link), while McClung was acquired from the Delaware Blue Coats in exchange for the rights to Jeff Dowtin and a 2024 G League second-round pick (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Russell, Noel, Paul, Team USA, Baker

Bill Russell‘s No. 6 will be retired throughout the league and another Hall of Famer, Alonzo Mourning, said it was much-deserved honor, Marc J. Spears of Andscape writes.

“We still need to celebrate his name, because he paved the way during a time where he had to deal with so many different obstacles,” Mourning said. “Not just on the court, but off the court. He paved the way for all of us.”

Mourning and Jerry West were on stage at the Hall of Fame’s annual ceremony over the weekend to honor Russell before the Class of 2022 was inducted.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Pistons center Nerlens Noel‘s lawsuit against agent Rich Paul is headed to arbitration, Michael McCann of Sportico reports in a subscribers-only article. Noel sued Paul last August, alleging that the agent’s negotiating tactics during 2017 cost him a four-year, $70MM extension with Dallas.
  • USA Basketball wound up with the bronze medal in the AmeriCup by defeating Canada 84-80 (Twitter link). Former NBA forward Gary Clark led the way with 18 points. Argentina, having defeated Team USA in the semifinals, earned the gold medal with a victory over Brazil.
  • The G League Lakeland Magic acquired the returning player rights to forward Robert Baker from the Stockton Kings in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Baker, 24, appeared in 26 games with the Stockton Kings last season and one Summer League game with the Thunder.

And-Ones: Seattle, Las Vegas, Expansion, Baker, Tatum

The NBA may have earmarked Seattle and Las Vegas as potential expansion locations. According to John Canzano of 750 The Game, the league is eyeing both cities if it adds expansion teams, though no further details have been made available. Canzano made his comments on Seattle radio station 93.3 KJR (Twitter link).

It’s worth noting that a similar report was shot down by the league in March, as Chris Daniels of King5.com wrote at the time. However, several players and league officials hold Seattle in high regard, and Las Vegas is currently used by the NBA for its annual summer league, which will be held July 7-17 this year.

Here are some other odds and ends from the basketball universe:

  • The Thunder have received a summer league commitment from Robert Baker, his agent Jerry Dianis told Hoops Rumors. Baker, a 6’10” forward, played with the Kings’ G League affiliate this year. The 23-year-old also played collegiately at Harvard from 2017-20.
  • Celtics star Jayson Tatum would like to see some changes to the All-NBA Team voting, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Tatum received All-NBA First Team honors, but he was left off last year’s three teams — costing him tens of millions on his current deal, as Bontemps notes. Among Tatum’s adjustments would be making the teams positionless. He used Joel Embiid as an example, since Embiid finished second in Most Valuable Player voting this season, but was relegated to the All-NBA Second Team because the MVP winner, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, made the First Team. Tatum also voiced his concerns about the process back in February.