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Devin Robinson Arrested; Wizards Announce He Will Not Return

April 13th, 2019 at 11:55am CST by marksuleymanov

Following an alleged physical confrontation outside a nightclub early Saturday morning, Wizards two-way player Devin Robinson was arrested, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Wizards issued a stern statement addressing the arrest, adding that Robinson will not return for the team next season.

“We are aware of the incident this morning involving Devin and are disappointed in his actions,” the statement reads. “We will not extend him a qualifying offer for the 2019/20 season.”

Robinson, 24, appeared in just seven games for Washington in the regular season, averaging 6.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG. He also appeared in one game in 2017/18, while seeing most of his playing time in the G League.

In 22 NBAGL contests with the Capital City Go-Go this season, Robinson averaged 19.9 PPG and 8.2 RPG.

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Knicks Notes: Jordan, Ewing, Williamson, Fizdale, Coaching Staff

April 13th, 2019 at 10:42am CST by marksuleymanov

The Knicks acquired veteran center DeAndre Jordan as part of the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster in February. Jordan was viewed as a potential buyout candidate; a veteran player likely interested in latching on with a contending team. However, he finished out the season in New York.

Head coach David Fizdale said this week that the Knicks offered Jordan a buyout, but he wanted to remain with the team, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Jordan, 30, appeared in 19 games with the Knicks, averaging 10.9 PPG and 11.4 RPG — solid totals in line with his career production.

In addition to his production, Jordan served as a mentor for a young team, particularly to promising big man Mitchell Robinson. As the Knicks prepare for an active offseason, Jordan remains a possibility to re-sign with the team.

Check out more Knicks notes down below:

  • Knicks legend Patrick Ewing will represent the team at the NBA draft lottery next month and the team is hopeful he will be a good luck charm, ESPN’s Ian Begley writes. “Patrick is a huge part of our team’s history and we’re thrilled to have number 33 represent the franchise at this year’s draft lottery,” Knicks president Steve Mills said.
  • While the Knicks will hope for the best at the lottery, particularly the chance to draft Duke’s Zion Williamson, the team is prepared for any outcome, Forbes’ Adam Zagoria writes. “At the end of the day, I’m really prepared for whoever we get,” Fizdale said on The Michael Kay Show.
  • It’s unclear how different the Knicks’ roster will be next season but Fizdale is also not looking to change the coaching staff, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “No, I like these guys,’’ Fizdale said. “These guys are good. They know their stuff. They know their craft. We got some really knowledgeable guys.”
  • Speaking of next season, both Berman of The Post and Newsday’s Steve Popper examined the Knicks’ roster and who may or may not be back for the 2019/20 season.
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Mike Budenholzer Named Coach Of The Year By NBCA

April 13th, 2019 at 8:55am CST by marksuleymanov

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer has been elected the 2019 Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

The award is voted on by all 30 NBA head coaches and does not permit any coach to vote for himself. Per Wojnarowski, the Nets‘ Kenny Atkinson, Nuggets‘ Michael Malone, Pacers‘ Nate McMillan, Spurs‘ Gregg Popovich, and others were among those to receive votes.

This award, introduced in 2017, isn’t the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by media members and is represented by the Red Auerbach Trophy. That award will be presented at the league’s awards show in June. The Coaches Association’s version of Coach of the Year is voted on by the NBA’s 30 head coaches.

In his first season at the helm in Milwaukee, Budenholzer led the team to an NBA-best 60-win regular season.

Budenholzer, 49, spent five seasons as the Hawks’ head coach, leading the team to a 60-win season in 2014/15.  Atlanta’s strong regular season earned Budenholzer the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2015.

After a 24-win season in Atlanta last season, Budenholzer and the Hawks parted ways, paving the road for him to join the Bucks.

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2019 Pre-Lottery NBA Draft Order

April 13th, 2019 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA conducted its draft tiebreakers on Friday evening, further cementing the draft order for 2019. While we’ll have to wait until the May 14 draft lottery to determine the exact order for this year’s event, we now know what most of the 60 selections look like.

Listed below is the pre-lottery 2019 NBA draft order. Each lottery team’s chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick are noted in parentheses. We’ve also included notes for picks whose status remains up in the air — for instance, the Grizzlies‘ first-round pick could still technically end up with either Memphis or the Celtics.

For teams with identical records, Friday’s tiebreakers only determined the first-round order — that order is reversed in the second round. As such, some second-round picks may hinge on next month’s lottery results.

For instance, even though the Cavaliers won the tiebreaker vs. the Suns for the No. 2 spot in the lottery order, Phoenix could still leapfrog Cleveland in the lottery, in which case the Cavs’ second-round pick (owned by the Sixers) would move ahead of the Suns’ second-rounder.

We’ll update this list after the May 14 lottery once the official order is set, but here’s the tentative 2019 NBA draft order:

First Round:

  1. New York Knicks (14.0%)
  2. Cleveland Cavaliers (14.0%)
  3. Phoenix Suns (14.0%)
  4. Chicago Bulls (12.5%)
  5. Atlanta Hawks (10.5%)
  6. Washington Wizards (9.0%)
  7. New Orleans Pelicans (6.0%)
  8. Memphis Grizzlies (6.0%)
    • Note: The Celtics will receive this pick if it falls out of the top eight (42.6% chance).
  9. Atlanta Hawks (from Mavericks) (6.0%)
    • Note: The Mavericks will keep this pick if it moves up into the top four (26.2% chance).
  10. Minnesota Timberwolves (3.0%)
  11. Los Angeles Lakers (2.0%)
  12. Charlotte Hornets (1.0%)
  13. Miami Heat (1.0%)
  14. Boston Celtics (from Kings) (1.0%)
    • Note: The Sixers will receive this pick if it moves up to No. 1 (1.0% chance).
  15. Detroit Pistons
  16. Orlando Magic
  17. Brooklyn Nets
  18. Indiana Pacers
  19. San Antonio Spurs
  20. Boston Celtics (from Clippers)
  21. Oklahoma City Thunder
  22. Boston Celtics
  23. Utah Jazz
  24. Philadelphia 76ers
  25. Portland Trail Blazers
  26. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Rockets)
  27. Brooklyn Nets (from Nuggets)
  28. Golden State Warriors
  29. San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
  30. Milwaukee Bucks

Second Round:

  1. Brooklyn Nets (from Knicks)
  2. Phoenix Suns
  3. Philadelphia 76ers (from Cavaliers)
    • Note: Sixers would swap places with Suns if Phoenix gets higher first-round pick than Cleveland via lottery.
  4. Philadelphia 76ers (from Bulls)
  5. Atlanta Hawks
  6. Charlotte Hornets (from Wizards)
  7. Dallas Mavericks
  8. Chicago Bulls (from Grizzlies)
  9. New Orleans Pelicans
    • Note: If Mavericks or Grizzlies move ahead of Pelicans via first-round lottery, their pick(s) would fall behind New Orleans’ in second round.
  10. Sacramento Kings (from Timberwolves)
  11. Atlanta Hawks (from Lakers)
  12. Philadelphia 76ers (from Kings)
  13. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Heat)
  14. Atlanta Hawks (from Hornets)
    • Note: If Kings or Heat move ahead of Hornets via first-round lottery, their pick(s) would fall behind Charlotte’s in second round.
  15. Detroit Pistons
  16. Orlando Magic (from Nets)
  17. Sacramento Kings (from Magic)
  18. Los Angeles Clippers
  19. San Antonio Spurs
  20. Indiana Pacers
  21. Boston Celtics
  22. Charlotte Hornets (from Thunder)
  23. Utah Jazz
  24. Philadelphia 76ers
  25. New York Knicks (from Rockets)
  26. Los Angeles Clippers (from Trail Blazers)
  27. New Orleans Pelicans (from Nuggets)
  28. Golden State Warriors
  29. Toronto Raptors
  30. Sacramento Kings (from Bucks)

Information from NBA.com and Tankathon.com was used in the creation of this post.

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And-Ones: Silver, Mock Draft, Players’ Poll, Belinelli

April 12th, 2019 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is willing to consider shortening the regular season and even the length of games, he said in a press conference on Friday. Silver’s comments were relayed by the Associated Press’ Brian Mahoney. “The format we have in place now — I’m a traditionalist on one hand, but on the other hand it’s 50 years old or so, presenting an 82-game season, and there’s nothing magical about it,” Silver said. He also tossed out the idea of reducing the length of games from 48 minutes to 40, the same as college and international games. Holding mid-season tournaments is something else he’s willing to consider. None of the potential changes are close to be implemented, Mahoney adds.

We have more from the basketball world:

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Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Pacific Division

April 12th, 2019 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Pacific Division:

Klay Thompson, Warriors, 29, SG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $69MM deal in 2015
The smart money has Kevin Durant signing elsewhere this summer, which makes it more imperative for Golden State to keep its dynamic backcourt intact. The Warriors would probably have to max out Thompson at $190MM over five years and ownership appears willing to do so. If not, rivals with ample cap space would certainly give him a four-year, $140MM deal, the max they could offer. In any case, Thompson won’t have to take a discount the way the market figures to play out. Even in a somewhat down year by his standards, he still had the sixth-most 3-point makes in the NBA.

Reggie Bullock, Lakers, 28, SG (Down) — Signed to a two-year, $5MM deal in 2017
The cap-strapped Pistons figured they couldn’t re-sign Bullock, so they traded him to the Lakers for a couple of assets. He was Detroit’s most reliable wing player but things didn’t go well for him in L.A. He never got into a shooting rhythm with the Lakers, as the career 39.2% long-range gunner made just 34.3% of his 3-point shots. Bullock’s price tag might have gone down somewhat, though he should still field some multi-year offers. He might even return to Detroit, where he played four seasons, if the Pistons can fit him into their budget.

Rodney McGruder, Clippers, 27, SF (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $3.4MM deal in 2016
McGruder finished his season in the Clippers organization, though he’s ineligible for the playoffs. Miami put him on waivers to get under the luxury tax and the Clippers claimed him. The Clippers gained control of his Early Bird rights and can make him a restricted free agent by extending a $3MM qualifying offer. It seems that McGruder might benefit from Miami’s surprising move, as he could claim a rotation role with his new club depending upon how well they do in free agency. If they choose not to give him a QO, he should be able to secure a contract on the open market befitting a second-unit player.

Jamal Crawford, Suns, 39, SG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.39MM deal in 2018
How crazy is this? Crawford entered the league in 2000, the same year Zion Williamson was born. They could be teammates next season. That’s if Crawford decides re-sign with Phoenix. He wants to play at least another year and why not? This week, Crawford became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 50-point game. Crawford appeared in 64 games with Phoenix after playing a minimum of 79 the previous three years. He’ll be providing offense off the bench somewhere next season, a tribute to his preparation, perseverance and durability.

Willie Cauley-Stein, Kings, 25, C (Down)– Signed to a four-year, $15.35MM deal in 2015
Cauley-Stein said prior to the season he was “ready to get paid” after his walk year. He started all but one game this season for Sacramento but didn’t really enhance his value. He’s not a shot-blocker. He doesn’t rebound particularly well for his size. He can’t shoot free throws, nor does he pose much of an offensive threat. The Kings can make him a restricted free agent by extending a $6.25MM qualifying offer but even that’s not a given. Cauley-Stein will certainly get a raise compared to his rookie deal but it probably won’t be what he expected.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hawks’ Kent Bazemore Opts In For 2019/20

April 12th, 2019 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

8:00pm: Bazemore has officially picked up his option, per RealGM’s transactions log.

1:01pm: Hawks swingman and podcast co-host Kent Bazemore intends to exercise his player option for the 2019/20 season, agent Austin Walton tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Opting in will ensure that Bazemore’s $19,269,662 salary for next season becomes guaranteed.

The 2019/20 season represents the final year of the four-year, $70MM contract Bazemore signed with Atlanta back in July of 2016. While he has been a solid contributor for the Hawks since then, he’s unlikely to ever see that sort of payday again as he prepares to enter his age-30 season.

In 2018/19, Bazemore appeared in 67 games (35 starts) for the Hawks, recording 11.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 SPG with a .402/.320/.726 shooting line and solid perimeter defense. It was something of a down year for the former Old Dominion standout, who had been a career 36.0% shooter on three-point attempts entering the season.

Bazemore will look to bounce back next season – in advance of 2020 unrestricted free agency – as a role player on a young Hawks team that features up-and-comers like Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, and John Collins. Atlanta is in position to add two more young players to its core this June, as the team ranks fifth in the draft lottery order and also holds Dallas’ top-five protected first-round pick — the Mavs are tied for seventh in the lottery order entering today’s tiebreaker.

The Hawks will still have plenty of cap flexibility this summer, even after taking into account Bazemore’s $19MM+ salary. Outside of Bazemore and Miles Plumlee ($12.5MM), no one on Atlanta’s roster is on the books for more than $6.27MM in 2019/20, per Basketball Insiders.

Despite the fact that the 2018/19 season ended less than 48 hours ago, there have already been four veteran players who have exercised player options for next year or confirmed that they’ll do so. Bazemore joins Marvin Williams (Hornets), C.J. Miles (Grizzlies), and Jeff Teague (Timberwolves) in that group.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Southeast Rumors: Hornets’ Plans, Walker, Ferry, Skyhawks

April 12th, 2019 at 7:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak said the team will not be a major player in the free agent market, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. With Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bismack Biyombo and Marvin Williams holding player options on their contracts for next season totaling $45MM, the Hornets likely won’t have much cap space to utilize. Upgrades will be sought mainly through trades, according to an Associated Press report. Kupchak’s main goal this offseason is to re-sign unrestricted free agent Kemba Walker. “I think this is a place that he wants to be and we’ll do everything that we can to bring him back here,” Kupchak said.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

  • The Charlotte Observer editorial board took the unusual step of urging the franchise to let Walker seek greener pastures. Opining that “a special player should get the opportunity to find something truly special someplace else,” the board believes it may be in the franchise’s best interest to start over, go into tank mode and gain the financial flexibility required to bring the city a winning team.
  • Danny Ferry, who pulled himself out of consideration to run the Pelicans’ front office, is very interested in the Wizards’ top front office job, Gery Woelfel of Woelfelspressbox hears (Twitter link). Ferry served as the interim GM with New Orleans after Dell Demps was fired just after the February trade deadline. Washington fired longtime president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld last week.
  • Dan Dial has been named president of the Hawks’ newly-relocated G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, according to a team press release. Dial spent the last seven years as president of baseball’s River City Rascals in the Frontier League. The G League team was previously called the BayHawks and located in Erie, Pa.
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Pacers Reach 25-Year Deal To Remain in Indianapolis

April 12th, 2019 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers and the city of Indianapolis have agreed to a 25-year deal that commits roughly $800MM in public spending to keep the team there, Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star reports. The agreement will run through the 2043/44 season and include extension options for another three seasons.

The Marion County Capital Improvement Board, which owns and manages the city’s professional sports stadiums, voted unanimously in favor of the agreement on Friday. The terms include $295MM to upgrade Bankers Life Fieldhouse and approximately $362MM to operate the facility. Another $120MM will be spent on technological upgrades.

A large outdoor plaza and upgraded suites are part of the renovations. Construction is expected to begin next year after the Pacers season ends, according to an Associated Press report. Construction will be suspended ahead of the NBA All-Star Game there tin February 2021. The final phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2022. The WNBA’s Indiana Fever will play their home games from 2020-22 at another facility.

The terms are still contingent on the Indiana General Assembly creating a way to pay for most of that deal, according to the Star’s report. The contract includes clauses to protect the city from the team making any effort to leave before the agreement expires, including a penalty of as much as $750MM.

The new deal will supersede the Pacers’ current one, which was set to expire in 2024.

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Lonzo Ball Passed On Ankle Surgery After Lakers’ Threat

April 12th, 2019 at 5:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball nearly underwent an unauthorized procedure on his left ankle procedure before the organization threatened to void his rookie contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

The drama occurred in late February with Ball travelling to Ohio to undergo the surgery before the Lakers’ brass talked him out of it. Owner Jeanie Buss sent a plane to Ohio to pick up Ball and bring him back to Los Angeles, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

The surgery was planned by Ball’s estranged former business partner Alan Foster and with knowledge of his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, Charania continues. The Ball family was familiar with the Ohio surgeon since the doctor had previously operated on Lonzo’s younger brother LiAngelo Ball.

Lonzo Ball notified GM Rob Pelinka about his plans and at that point the organization told him they could void his contract if he underwent the procedure, Charania adds.

Pelinka and team president Magic Johnson, who stepped down this week, worked in tandem with Ball’s now former agent Harrison Gaines to change his mind about the surgical procedure.

Ball suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain on January 19 and missed the remainder of the season. Once Ball returned to Los Angeles, Johnson and Pelinka spent time with him at doctor appointments to make sure he followed the team’s rehab plan, according to Charania.

Ball is suing Foster, the former co-founder and manager of Big Baller Brand, for damages of more than $2MM. The suit alleges that Foster embezzled millions of dollars from the company for his personal use. He also parted ways with Gaines this month and hired Creative Artists Agency to represent him.

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