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NBA Announces 2023/24 All-Defensive Teams

May 21st, 2024 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2023/24 season (Twitter link).

A total of 99 media members voted on the All-Defensive awards, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote. This year’s All-Defensive teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Gobert, who won this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award, was the only unanimous First Team selection, earning all 99 possible First Team votes.

No other players showed up on every ballot, though Wembanyama appeared on 98, receiving 86 First Team nods. Wembanyama is the first rookie in NBA history to claim a spot on an All-Defensive First Team, according to the NBA (Twitter link). Five rookies previously made a Second Team.

All-Defensive voting was positionless for the first time this season, which is why four big men – Gobert, Wembanyama, Adebayo, and Davis – were permitted to be named to the First Team. Jones, a forward, was the only non-center to earn First Team recognition, whereas the Second Team was made up entirely of guards and forwards.

The Timberwolves and Celtics – who ranked first and second, respectively, in regular season defensive rating – were the only teams to have more than one All-Defensive player in 2023/24. McDaniels was a Second Team selection, joining Gobert, while the Celtics’ backcourt duo of White and Holiday also made the Second Team. Both White ($250K) and Holiday ($139,200) earned bonuses as a result of making an All-Defensive team, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

The rookie scale extension McDaniels signed last fall actually includes an All-Defensive bonus as well, Marks tweets, but since that contract doesn’t go into effect until this July, the Timberwolves’ perimeter stopper won’t cash in on that $431,035. That incentive is now considered “likely” instead of “unlikely” for next season though, as Marks notes, increasing McDaniels’ cap hit to $23,017,242.

Outside of the top 10, the players who received the most All-Defensive votes were Thunder wing Luguentz Dort (34 points, including six First Team votes), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (29 points), Thunder center Chet Holmgren (21 points), Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (20 points), and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19 points).

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (six), Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown (three), and Kings teammates Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox (one apiece) were the other players who received First Team votes. In total, 34 players earned at least one First Team or Second Team vote.

Players were required to meet the 65-game criteria in order to qualify for All-Defensive honors this season. Knicks forward OG Anunoby, Warriors big man Draymond Green, and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley – each of whom made an All-Defensive team last spring – were among the standout defenders who didn’t reach that games-played minimum in 2023/24.

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Community Shootaround: Timberwolves/Mavericks Series

May 21st, 2024 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves and Mavericks were considered two of the Western Conference’s most disappointing teams at this time last spring. The Wolves, who had mortgaged their future in order to acquire Rudy Gobert during the 2022 offseason, barely finished above .500 (42-40) and were quickly dispatched in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Dallas didn’t even make the play-in tournament after going into a tailspin following the midseason acquisition of Kyrie Irving and posting an unimpressive 38-44 record

What a difference a year makes.

All the pieces came together in Minnesota during the Wolves’ second year with Gobert, as the team got off to a 17-4 start and held a top-three seed in the West for nearly the entire season, led by rising superstar Anthony Edwards, All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, and the NBA’s No. 1 defense.

In Dallas, Luka Doncic and Irving thrived after getting an offseason and training camp together, and the Mavericks really hit their stride during the final two months of the season after acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in a pair of trade deadline deals.

The two teams, who each had a projected over/under of 44.5 wins entering the fall, comfortably exceeded expectations in the regular season and have dispatched a pair of tough opponents in the playoffs. The Wolves made quick work of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the Suns in round one before knocking off the defending-champion Nuggets in round two. The Mavs, meanwhile, beat the Clippers in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series and then got past the No. 1 Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

It sets up a fascinating Western Conference finals between two teams whose histories of deep postseason runs are pretty limited. The Mavericks have made the NBA Finals just twice since their inception in 1980, winning one title in 2011. The Timberwolves’ playoff history is even less inspiring — this is just the second time in their 35-year existence they’ve made the Western finals, and they’ve never advanced further than that.

This year’s Timberwolves might be the best team in franchise history though, with Mike Conley organizing an offense led by a pair of talented scorers in Edwards and Towns, while four-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert anchors a defense that features perimeter stoppers such as Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Throw in Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid and jack-of-all-trades veteran wing Kyle Anderson and the Wolves have one of the NBA’s deepest, most versatile postseason rotations.

Minnesota had the NBA’s third-best net rating (+6.3) during the regular season and has improved that mark to +8.5 (No. 2 in the league) during the playoffs, ranking first in the West in both offensive rating (116.1) and defensive rating (107.6) in the postseason. As the higher seed in the Western finals, the Wolves will also have home court advantage in the series.

Given all those factors, it’s no surprise that Minnesota is viewed as the solid favorite entering the Western finals. BetOnline.ag has the Wolves listed at -182 to advance to the NBA Finals, with Dallas at +162.

The Mavericks are a tough opponent to beat when they’re firing on all cylinders though. In Doncic and Irving, they have two elite shot-makers who can wear down even the best of defenses and who don’t mind having the ball in their hands with the game on the line. Dallas’ two star guards are complemented by versatile forwards Washington and Derrick Jones, who have both been reliable threats from beyond the three-point line during the playoffs, as well as Gafford and Dereck Lively, a pair of rim-running centers who are capable of protecting the paint on defense.

Not having Maxi Kleber (shoulder) will hurt, but the Mavs have decent frontcourt depth without him, and there’s a chance he could be back later in the series. If role players like Josh Green and Tim Hardaway Jr. are playing well, it could help make up for Kleber’s absence.

Josh Robbins, Sam Amick, and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic spoke to a scout, a coach, and an executive about the Western Conference showdown and all three picked the Timberwolves. But they all expect the series to last six games, and that was a common theme in ESPN’s expert predictions as well — nine of ESPN’s 15 respondents chose the Wolves, but not one of the 15 expects the series to be over in fewer than six games.

We want to know what you think. After knocking off the champs, is Minnesota headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history? Or will the Mavs pull off the upset? Will the winner of this series win the 2024 championship?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts and predictions for the series!

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Lakers Meet With J.J. Redick, James Borrego, Sam Cassell

May 21st, 2024 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

The interview portion of the Lakers‘ head coaching search is underway, according to Jovan Buha and Shams Charania of The Athletic, who report that the team has had formal meetings in recent days with ESPN analyst J.J. Redick, Pelicans assistant James Borrego, and Celtics assistant Sam Cassell.

The Lakers also intend to meet with Micah Nori (Timberwolves assistant), David Adelman (Nuggets assistant), and Chris Quinn (Heat assistant), per Buha and Charania.

Of those three, Nori is the only one whose team’s season isn’t over. He has also taken on a larger role on Minnesota’s bench during the postseason due to a knee procedure that has rendered Wolves head coach Chris Finch immobile during games, so scheduling an interview with him will be a little trickier than lining up meetings with Adelman and Quinn.

The Athletic previously referred to Redick, Borrego, and Cassell as the Lakers’ “initial leading targets” in their head coaching search. Since then, multiple reports have indicated that people around the NBA view Redick as the frontrunner for the job.

League sources tell Buha and Charania that the Lakers are “infatuated” with Redick’s potential as a head coach, despite his lack of experience. They view him as a “Pat Riley-like coaching prospect” who could thrive both in the short and long-term, The Athletic’s duo adds.

Redick co-hosts a podcast with Lakers star LeBron James, resulting in speculation that his relationship with LeBron is driving his candidacy in Los Angeles. However, James’ agent Rich Paul has insisted that’s not the case, as we relayed this morning. Redick also reportedly received consideration for the Hornets’ coaching job earlier this spring and interviewed with the Raptors in 2023.

Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney have also been mentioned as possible Lakers candidates in recent weeks, but neither was mentioned in The Athletic’s latest report.

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Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Parity, Kleber, Gafford, Lively

May 20th, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd believes the league is pleased to see teams like the Timberwolves and Pacers make the conference finals, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. The league has been striving for parity, rather than a few powerhouse teams winning all the championships.

“The league loves it,” Kidd said on Monday. “It’s great. It’s great for the league. I saw a question today: is there any more dominance? Is there ever going to be another dynasty? With player movement and the league being so young, we’ll see. But it’s great. That (the parity) gives everyone the opportunity that they truly believe they can win a championship at the starting line of this marathon.”

The Mavericks, Timberwolves and Pacers were all 20-to-1 or higher to win the championship prior to the season among most wagering sites.

We have more on the Mavericks:

  • Big man Maxi Kleber will remain sidelined for at least the start of the series against the Timberwolves, Sefko reports in the same story. Kleber has been out since May 3 due to a right shoulder injury. “Still out,” Kidd said. “Looked good today. He looked good on the treadmill. We’ve done it already in one series (playing without Kleber). We’re going to have to do it again until he comes back. But that gives other guys the opportunity to step up and we truly believe everyone in that locker room is going to hold it together until he gets back.”
  • Kidd was one of the NBA coaches on the hot seat entering the season. He’s quieted his critics as the season has unfolded. He received a contract extension earlier this month and now has his team in the conference finals, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. “Our goal is to win a championship; that’s what we’re trying to do, but sometimes you guys don’t see that,” Kidd said. “And it’s all right, you’ve got to do your job. Because we really don’t care. That’s the beauty of our culture, is that we’re not affected by what’s written negatively. We just go out there and play and play for each other. And that’s what’s going to win a championship.”
  • Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively will face a major challenge against the Timberwolves’ bigs, Schuyler Dixon of The Associated Press writes. They will have to deal with the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid. ”One thing for sure, we got to make sure we stay out of foul trouble,” Gafford said. ”Really, just stay patient. We’re not going to keep them from scoring points, but staying to our tendencies and just sticking to our principles is something that’s going to help us throughout this series.”
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Team's Collective Size Wore Down Jokic

May 20th, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Another columnist, Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune, also heaped praise on the team president, declaring the Timberwolves are built to win this year and also to contend for years to come. Souhan notes that Kyle Anderson is the only member of the Wolves’ regular eight-man rotation who is not signed long-term.
  • The Timberwolves’ Game 7 triumph over the Nuggets on Sunday was a tribute to Tim Connelly‘s decision to build with size, according to Rob Mahoney of The Ringer. The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid wore down Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic. No team can match Minnesota’s collective size, Mahoney notes, which allows the Timberwolves to play superior defensive coverage.
  • Another columnist, Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune, also heaped praise on the team president, declaring the Timberwolves are built to win this year and also to contend for years to come. Souhan notes that Kyle Anderson is the only member of the Wolves’ regular eight-man rotation who is not signed long-term.
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Nuggets Notes: Game 7, Jokic, Murray, Braun, Offseason

May 20th, 2024 at 3:12pm CST by Rory Maher

The defending-champion Nuggets were eliminated from the postseason in extraordinary fashion by the Timberwolves in Sunday night’s Game 7, blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead at home, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. According to Youngmisuk, it was the largest Game 7 blown lead in the past 25 years.

Perhaps all the more stunning is the fact that Denver is known for having one of the best home court advantages in the league, going 33-8 in the regular season and only dropping one playoff home game during its championship campaign in 2022/23. In the first round, the Nuggets went 3-0 vs. the Lakers at home. Yet in the semifinal, they dropped three of four to Minnesota.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, Nikola Jokic (34 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists) put up his typical huge numbers. However, the reigning Finals MVP and three-time MVP noticeably ran out of gas as the game progressed, settling for jumpers in the second half and going 13-of-28 from the floor overall, including 2-of-10 on threes (he made 6-of-7 from the line). The Serbian star rested for a total of just 84 seconds, all of which came in the first half.

Jokic was humble in defeat, praising the Wolves and specifically their roster construction. Minnesota’s front office is led by Tim Connelly, who drafted Jokic to Denver before getting a raise from the Wolves a couple years ago.

“I mean, I think they’re built to beat us,” Jokic said, per Youngmisuk. “Just look at their roster. They have basically two All-Stars (Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns), two probably first-team defensive players (Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels). Mike Conley is the most underrated player in the NBA, probably.

“From the bench, they have a Sixth Man of the Year (Naz Reid). … (They are) one team that they can do literally everything. They can be big, small.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

  • Jamal Murray, who was instrumental in last year’s Finals run but has been battling a calf strain, scored his 29th point just over a minute into the second half before adding just six the rest of the way. He finished with a game-high 35 points on a very similar line to Jokic (13-of-27, 4-of-12 on threes, 5-of-5 on free throws). Murray viewed the series differently than Jokic, believing the Nuggets were the superior team, but trying to repeat as champions took its toll. “Just mentally and physically, conjuring up the energy to fight like you’re being hunted,” Murray said. “I think that’s the emotion. When you’re the hunter, you have so much more motivation and you grasp on to anything to prove everybody wrong and you have a constant chip on your shoulder. I don’t know. … I feel like we should have won tonight. That’s the tough part. They beat us, but we had so many great opportunities, including myself, so it’s just tough, man.”
  • Second-year wing Christian Braun concurred with Murray’s assessment and said he definitely views the Wolves as a rival now after eliminating a shorthanded Minnesota in last year’s playoffs. “It sucks,” Braun said. according to Durando, “because I think we’re the better team. … I don’t like them. I think that we need more of that in the NBA. They’re a really good team. Really well-coached. Really good players. It’s a matchup that you love to play in. You don’t want to play, like, really friendly with a bunch of teams. I think it’s a really good rivalry for the NBA. I would say it is a rivalry. And that’s why this hurts more.”
  • While Jokic and Murray took responsibility, they combined to score 69 points, compared to 21 points on 8-of-28 shooting for the rest of the team, notes Youngmisuk. And the starting lineup, which has consistently been one of the best in the league the past two seasons, was minus-60 overall, per Durando.
  • ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link), HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks, and cap expert Yossi Gozlan (YouTube link) preview Denver’s offseason and future salary cap situation, respectively. Starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of the team’s top defenders who shot 41.6% from deep in his two regular seasons with the Nuggets, could be their top free agent — he holds a $15.4MM player option and would likely get a raise on the open market. The Nuggets have one of the league’s more expensive rosters, so re-signing the 31-year-old might not be a lock.
  • Murray reiterated his desire to play for Canada in the upcoming Olympics in Paris this summer, per Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. However, Jokic was noncommittal about the possibility of suiting up for the Serbia. “I don’t know, my friend, we will see,” he said. “I need to think about it.”
  • Head coach Michael Malone was clearly frustrated after the series and defended his actions and team, calling it a temporary setback, per Youngmisuk. “This is just a momentary delay,” Malone said. “It’s a failure, it’s not fatal. We’ll be back. The better team won, so I’m taking nothing away from Minnesota … but mentally, emotionally, physically, I think guys are gassed. They’re dead tired. They gave me everything I could ever ask for, and that’s why as much as this hurts, I’ll walk out of this building tonight with my head held very high.”
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Wolves Notes: Towns, Edwards, Gobert, McDaniels, Finch

May 20th, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

While Anthony Edwards had been the Timberwolves‘ engine and leading scorer during their 2024 playoff run, it was the team’s other former No. 1 overall pick – Karl-Anthony Towns – who keyed Sunday’s 20-point comeback in Denver and put up the biggest stat line of the night (23 points, 12 rebounds, and a pair of steals).

As Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune writes, Towns has long been “a symbol of Wolves underachievement, fairly or not,” so it’s fitting that his contributions were crucial in getting the team past the defending champions and into the Western Conference finals.

“I couldn’t be more happy and proud of him,” head coach Chris Finch said of Towns after the victory. “Because I think he’s faced a lot of unfair criticism when it comes to the postseason. The more you go through these things, the more at peace you are … KAT was really special, especially in the second half. I think you see how at peace and happy he is.”

“I’ve been here nine years, talked about wanting to win and do something special here for the organization,” Towns said, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “All of the failures and all the things that materialized and happened, the disappointment that comes with it led to this moment.”

Edwards, meanwhile, put up a solid line of 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, but he made just 6-of-24 shots from the floor. He expressed appreciation after the win that Towns and the other six Wolves players who saw action in Sunday’s Game 7 helped make up for his poor shooting night.

“It was tough, man, because I couldn’t find myself, my rhythm tonight,” Edwards said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “So, I just had to trust my teammates. … I just had to make the right plays throughout the rest of the game. I did that, and my teammates made shots. Big shoutout to those guys.”

Here’s more on the Wolves, who are headed to the Western Conference finals for just the second time in franchise history:

  • Like Towns, Rudy Gobert has faced criticism over the years for his lack of playoff success, most recently after Game 5 when Nikola Jokic had a 40-point game and made 8-of-9 shots with Gobert as his primary defender. However, as McMenamin writes, Gobert scored eight of his 13 points on Sunday in the fourth quarter, including an improbable turnaround fadeaway with the shot clock running down (video link). He also led a stifling defensive effort that saw Denver score just 37 points on 35.9% shooting in the second half. As Sam Amick of The Athletic points out, the Wolves are +111 in the playoffs with Gobert on the court, which is the best mark of any player on the roster.
  • Jaden McDaniels matched Towns with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting in Game 7 and earned major praise from Edwards for the role he has played so far in the postseason. “Jaden McDaniels was the MVP of the last two series,” Edwards told reporters (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). McDaniels signed a five-year extension with Minnesota last fall — it will go into effect this July, bumping his salary from $3.9MM to $22.6MM.
  • Edwards also lauded Finch for the role he has played in the Wolves’ success this season and this spring, per Amick. “It starts with our head coach — Coach Finch,” Edwards said. “He comes in every day, comes to work, gets there early. He’s thinking of ways to get me and KAT open looks. He’s thinking of ways to get Mike (Conley) and Rudy open looks. He’s thinking of ways to get Jaden involved. He’s trying to keep Naz (Reid) in it to get him involved. He’s just a great coach. And he don’t sugarcoat anything with anybody. If KAT’s f—in’ up, he’s going to get on KAT. If I’m f—in’ up, he’s going to get on me. If Rudy f—in’ up, he’s going to get on anybody that’s messing up throughout the game, and I think that’s what makes him the best coach in the NBA, to me.”
  • The Timberwolves ownership battle, which is headed to arbitration, has taken a back seat during the team’s playoff run. “Only dysfunctional ownership can break up this team,” one team executive told ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
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Northwest Notes: Edwards, Murray, Nuggets, Kessler

May 19th, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Never mind momentum, home-court advantage, or the tactical adjustments that have led to four blowouts in the first six games of an unpredictable series. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards sees a simple calculation for tonight’s Game 7 at Denver, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“I think we’re confident just because we’re a great team,” Edwards told reporters on Saturday. “And we’re going against another great team, (but) we feel like we’re just the better team. That’s all the confidence that we need. The two previous games don’t mean anything because they beat our a– on our home court (in Game 3 and 4). That don’t mean anything. Right now, it’s just about who’s going to play better tomorrow.”

If Minnesota does prevail, Edwards figures to be a main reason, Amick adds. He’s averaging 29.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in the series while playing 40 minutes per night. He’s also shooting 55.1% from the field and 41.5% from beyond the arc and serving as a key component of a defense that has often overwhelmed the Nuggets. Throughout the series, the Wolves are plus-32 with him on the court and minus-4 when he’s resting.

“First of all, he’s a competitor,” assistant coach Elston Turner said of Edwards. “He is a competitor. You can tell that from the amount of times that he’s tweaked an ankle, hurt his back, got banged up, but he never leaves the f—ing game. He never leaves the game. So I expect him to compete (in Game 7).”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Jamal Murray is “feeling great” after participating in a full practice on Saturday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Murray, who hurt his right elbow when he ran into a screen early in Game 6, stayed late after practice for extra shooting.
  • After storming through the playoffs on their way to an NBA title last year, the Nuggets are already facing an elimination game in round two this year, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Denver is hoping its edge in postseason experience works to its advantage, and Malone told his players to try to have fun, hoping to change their mindset coming off a 45-point loss in Game 6. “I think experience is a great teacher,” he said. “I think that Game 7s can be too big for some. But I don’t think there’s any doubt that we are going to be ready to go in front of a great crowd. We want to enjoy the moment because a Game 7 represents the two best words in sports. You play all season to get a Game 7 at home, and we’re excited for it and hopefully, we can take advantage of it.”
  • The Jazz interviewed centers Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan at the draft combine, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking for a replacement for Walker Kessler, explains Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. She states that the team remains “invested” in Kessler’s future and was just doing due diligence by talking to the best players at every position. Team sources told Todd that they’re closely monitoring several wing players with their lottery pick.
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Wolves Notes: Conley, Finch, Towns, Edwards

May 18th, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mike Conley will have a chance to make a new Game 7 memory on Sunday, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ veteran point guard is still bothered by how the series ended when he and Rudy Gobert faced the Nuggets as members of the Jazz in a 2020 seventh game in the Orlando bubble. Conley had an opportunity to give Utah a dramatic victory, but his three-point shot at the buzzer misfired.

“I’ve replayed it a lot,” he said. “Having that opportunity to win a Game 7 like that and not be able to make the shot was tough. Now here we are in a similar situation, where we get to play the same team, a lot of the same guys. So for me, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully this will turn out different.”

Conley plans to be ready despite being listed as questionable with a right soleus strain that kept him out of Game 5. He was able to return for Thursday’s contest and said he feels better now than he did that night. He wants to be on the court so he can put to rest the bad memories from four years ago.

“It’s hard to escape it,” Conley said. “You find that clip every now and then. Sometimes it comes across the phone. I don’t actively search it — I don’t want to bring up that memory too much. But at the same time, it’s something that I’ve thought about at workouts and I think about if I’m having a tough day in a workout missing a certain shot. I’m like, ‘Nah, I got to make this because I might be in this situation again.'”

There’s more on the Wolves:

  • Injured head coach Chris Finch said he and lead assistant Micah Nori have developed an effective system as the series has worn on, Hine adds in the same piece. Finch can’t roam the sidelines after suffering a ruptured patella tendon in the first round, so he and Nori have to be selective about when they communicate. “Couple games ago, he was looking at me or to me a lot,” Finch said. “I just said, you can’t do that, we’re losing some possessions maybe here and there. Just trust your gut. He’s got 30 years of experience. So use it.”
  • Karl-Anthony Towns only scored 10 points in Game 6, but he sparked Minnesota’s blowout by doing all the things his critics say he can’t do, observes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. Towns served as the primary defender against Nikola Jokic, grabbed seven rebounds by the end of the first quarter and made the right passes in the offense.
  • Teammates raved about Anthony Edwards‘ maturation int0 a leader after Game 6, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. As the Wolves pulled away, Edwards implored the team to avoid any letdown that would allow Denver to get back into the game. “Just the way he’s grown from, I always say my second year, his rookie year, just from the way he’s grown as a basketball player and that person,” Naz Reid said. “It’s completely night and day.”
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Pistons Have Four Frontrunners In Search For President Of Basketball Operations

May 18th, 2024 at 8:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four candidates stood out in the Pistons‘ first round of interviews as they look for a new president of basketball operations, sources tell Vincent Goodwill and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon, former Knicks GM and current ESPN analyst Scott Perry, Mavericks advisor Dennis Lindsey, and Magic senior advisor John Hammond were all impressive in their meetings with the firm that’s conducting the initial search, according to the authors’ sources. They are considered frontrunners to meet with owner Tom Gores, who hopes to hire someone in advance of the draft.

Goodwill and Fischer suggest that Detroit might be waiting to see if Timberwolves president Tim Connelly becomes available before making a final decision, echoing a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic earlier this week. Connelly’s contract includes an opt-out clause at the end of the season, and he may be tempted to leave Minnesota, given the franchise’s unstable ownership situation.

Whoever takes over the Pistons’ front office will determine whether general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams will remain with the team. There are several other important decisions upcoming this offseason, including a possible rookie scale extension for Cade Cunningham and how to spend up to $64MM in cap room.

Several of the top candidates have previous ties to the Pistons organization, the authors note. When Langdon was a player, his agent was Arn Tellem, who now serves as the team’s vice chairman. Perry is a Detroit native who got his first executive job with the Pistons in 2000 and served as vice president of basketball operations from 2008-12. Hammond was formerly an assistant coach and assistant general manager in Detroit.

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