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Month: November 2024

Bulls Notes: Boylen, Mini-Camp, Draft, Deng

July 9th, 2020 at 12:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is keeping his promise to evaluate head coach Jim Boylen and his staff before making a decision on their future, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls have plenty of down time for Karnisovas to interact with Boylen and the other coaches. The team isn’t part of the restart in Orlando and is awaiting word on a possible mini-camp with the other seven non-invited teams.

Karnisovas and new general manager Marc Eversley have been encouraging the staff to focus solely on coaching-related matters and avoid other distractions that arise, Johnson adds. They want management to be in charge of any other issues that involve the team.

Since joining the Bulls, Karnisovas has met frequently with Boylen to watch film, get his opinions on player development and discuss the draft and free agency. Although Boylen remains unpopular with Chicago’s fan base, Karnisovas has pledged not to let public opinion sway his decision.

There’s more from Chicago:

  • The Bulls would probably be well represented at a gathering of the eight teams not in Orlando, though all players may not participate, Johnson adds in the same piece. One of the most intriguing decisions would involve Lauri Markkanen, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason and may not want to risk an injury with nothing at stake.
  • Point guard may again be a position of need as the new Bulls management team prepares for the draft, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Kris Dunn hasn’t developed into the play-maker the front office expected, and Coby White, last year’s top pick, seems better suited to play shooting guard. Cowley sees LaMelo Ball, Killian Hayes, Tyrese Haliburton and Cole Anthony as the best point guards available.
  • In an interview with Carol Tshabalala, Luol Deng blames former GM Gar Forman for destroying the Bulls’ chances at winning a title. “The guy who traded me obviously ruined the team,” Deng said. “I don’t mind saying that now. I would never speak about him as a person, just the decisions he made.” Tom Thibodeau was irate that the front office opted to trade Deng rather than give him a contract extension, Deng adds.
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Lakers Notes: LeBron, Smith, Bradley, Rondo

July 9th, 2020 at 11:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The stakes are high for LeBron James as the NBA season moves closer to restarting, writes Scott Cacciola of The New York Times. At age 35 and with a fourth championship possibly in reach, the Lakers star will have a chance to significantly add to his legacy.

Teammates say James maintained his leadership role through the nearly four-month hiatus, offering advice on group chats regarding topics such as gyms that were available for workouts and opportunities to speak out about social justice. He also stayed in top physical condition in preparation for a playoff run.

“He’s in the gym early, he’s leaving late and he’s the last guy working — and probably working the longest and the hardest,” Danny Green said. “He hasn’t changed at all, man.”

There’s more Lakers news to pass along:

  • Veteran guard J.R. Smith, who signed with the Lakers last week, said the coaching staff has given him a clearly defined role, Cacciola adds in the same piece. Smith was instructed to “shoot the ball at a high level” and concentrate on defense, leaving the playmaking duties to others. “It’s fortunate,” he said, “because I’ve never been the guy who was really trying to set up guys.”
  • Even though Avery Bradley opted out of the restart, he will receive a championship ring if the Lakers win the title, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Bradley, the only player from a serious title contender to pass on playing in Orlando, made the decision because of health concerns involving his six-year-old son. “Will I accept the ring? I’m neither here nor there about it,” he said. “I am 10 years in this league. The physical possession of a ring doesn’t make me feel like more or less of a person. I play basketball strictly for enjoyment and to add to the support of my family. Supporting them is exactly what I’m doing right now.”
  • Rajon Rondo is sporting an impressive physique in a Lakers practice video that has been circulating on social media, notes Austin Boyd of Heavy. The 34-year-old guard is notably leaner and stronger than when the season was suspended in March.
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Restart Notes: Silver, Disney Workers, Conditioning, Food

July 9th, 2020 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The last of the 22 teams headed for Orlando will arrive today, but concerns remain about whether the NBA’s attempt to finish its season will be successful, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The idea of keeping so many players and staff members protected in a controlled environment remains daunting, as commissioner Adam Silver admitted this week.

“We won’t be surprised when they first come down to Orlando if we have some additional players test positive,” Silver said in an interview with Fortune Brainstorm Health. “What would be most concerning is once players enter this campus and then go through our quarantine period, then if they were to test positive or if we were to have any positive tests, we would know we would have an issue. 

“We would know that there’s in essence a hole in our bubble or that our quarantine or our campus is not working in some way,” he added later. “So that would be very concerning.”

Six teams were forced to shut down their practice facilities over the past week after positive coronavirus tests among their travel groups. Silver admits a significant number of positive tests in Orlando could lead to another shutdown of the season.

There’s more news related to the restart:

  • One frequently raised concern is that some Disney workers won’t be subject to the same testing requirements as NBA personnel, but Magic CEO Alex Martins doesn’t expect that to be an issue, Youngmisuk adds in the same story. “I don’t have that concern because we’ve been assured by Disney and by the NBA that our players coaches and staff will not come in direct contact with any of those employees at Disney,” Martins said. “Whether they be food and beverage employees, or whether they be housekeeping employees, specific protocols have been put in place so that they’re really not coming into contact with each other at all. And because of that, I have the utmost confidence that there won’t be any interaction there.”
  • Players across the league seem to have remained in shape during the long layoff, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. However, there’s still work to do to get them ready for the rigors of NBA games. “Imagine not playing 5-on-5, not getting hit, not getting hit in the air and landing — all those little details that are so critical to your brain, [to] your central nervous system,” said physical therapist Fabrice Gautie, who has worked with many NBA players.
  • The NBA is responding after several players already in Orlando shared photos of their meals on social media, which were compared to airline food, writes Gabriel Fernandez of CBS Sports. “After clearing quarantine, players will also have access to various restaurants on campus and delivery options to choose from,” a league spokesman said. “Players will receive three meals a day and four meals on game days. There is never a shortage of food options – players can always request additional food by speaking with their team nutritionists.”
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Northwest Notes: Melo, Jazz, Booth, Thunder

July 8th, 2020 at 8:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Trail Blazers small forward Carmelo Anthony is looking forward to a return to his original small forward position now that the team’s starting power forward Zach Collins has returned to health, per Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com.

“I’m actually very comfortable at that, I’ve been doing that my whole life,” Anthony said during a Zoom conversation yesterday. “Over the last couple years is where I started moving, transitioning toward playing the four more. You’ve got teams going small, so that was to my advantage as well.”

Anthony, a 10-time All-Star with the Nuggets and Knicks, has averaged 15.3 PPG (while shooting 37.1% from long range and 84.3% from the charity stripe), 6.3 RPG and 1.6 APG for the Blazers. The 36-year-old was inked to the club as an injury replacement for Collins in November. Portland’s 29-37 record slots the team in as the No. 9 seed in the West.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • The Jazz touched down in the NBA’s Orlando restart campus last night. Team general manager Justin Zanik indicated in a Zoom conversation today between himself, executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey and reporters that the club has not experienced any positive coronavirus tests since mandatory team testing began last month,  according to Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News. Zanik traveled with the team to Orlando, while Lindsey stayed in Utah.
  • New Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth is contemplating innovative approaches to remote scouting during the current pandemic, according to Alex Labidou of Nuggets.com. “All we’re trying to do is look for where inefficiencies are, where you can get value,” Booth said. “Even though as the years go on and as people get more and more interested in [scouting in] Europe and they are putting more resources into it, it’s still a landscape where you can find a gem.”
  • Sixteen of 17 Thunder players are traveling to Orlando for the NBA’s Orlando season restart, as Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder details. In case you missed it, forward Isaiah Roby had surgery on his right plantar fascia and will miss the rest of the 2019/20 season.
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Pacific Notes: Bagley, Oubre, Warriors, Smith

July 8th, 2020 at 7:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Kings big man Marvin Bagley, who has been limited by various injuries throughout his first two NBA seasons, has indicated that he feels vastly improved and is ready for the season restart in Orlando, per James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

“I’m doing great,” Bagley said. “I’m 100%.” Bagley has been hampered by a broken thumb and a left foot sprain. He has logged time in only 13 games for the Kings this season.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • During a media call on Monday, Suns general manager James Jones did not rule out the prospect of Kelly Oubre Jr. to join his teammates for the league’s Orlando restart, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Oubre, the team’s starting small forward, underwent an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee for a torn meniscus on March 3 and is reportedly expected to remain sidelined through the summer.
  • Oubre, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2021/22 season, could be an appealing trade target for the Warriors, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater assesses the Suns forward’s fit with Golden State. The contracts would line up nicely: Oubre is owed $14.2MM in 2020/21, and the Warriors have a $17.2MM trade exception on their books as a result of their Andre Iguodala trade last summer.
  • New Lakers wing J.R. Smith, signed to bolster the team’s depth as a replacement for Avery Bradley, notes that he struggled with depression during the 20-month interim between his last NBA job (with the Cavaliers) and this one, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. “Being somebody who has been around the league predominately for most of their adult life, when that’s kind of taken away from you, it kind of gives you that culture shock and you obviously don’t understand what you lost until it’s gone,” Smith said.
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Central Notes: Brogdon, Pacers, Giannis, Pistons

July 8th, 2020 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon tested positive for the coronavirus when the NBA’s mandatory testing program began in June, but announced today (via Twitter) that he’s “feeling well” and is “ready for Orlando.”

The Pacers are one of eight teams scheduled to travel to the Walt Disney World campus on Thursday, and with Brogdon’s quarantine period now over, there’s hope that he’ll be able to accompany the team on that trip. According to Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports (Twitter link), Brogdon has to return another negative COVID-19 test before getting the go-ahead to travel with the Pacers to Orlando.

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star explores how Victor Oladipo‘s absence will impact the Pacers‘ rotation this summer, writing that Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner are the best bets to see increased roles.
  • Asked today if he has any concerns about teams tampering with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the NBA’s campus in Orlando, Bucks GM Jon Horst replied, “Zero,” tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Horst went on to joke that such tampering would “technically violate the social distancing rules” of the campus.
  • It’s not clear yet what responsibilities new Pistons assistant GM David Mincberg will take on, but the veteran executive is “something of a jack-of-all-trades addition” for the team, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, who notes that Mincberg has experience in scouting, analytics, salary cap management, and legal counsel.
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Hoops Rumors Commenting Policy

July 8th, 2020 at 4:34pm CST by Luke Adams

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Thunder’s Isaiah Roby Out For Season

July 8th, 2020 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder forward Isaiah Roby won’t play this summer when the NBA resumes, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes.

A team spokesman said today that Roby is out for the season after undergoing a minor procedure on his right plantar fascia, per Mussatto, who notes that the 22-year-old has dealt with plantar fasciitis since his days at Nebraska.

According to Mussatto, Roby won’t travel with the Thunder to the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus. The club also can’t sign a substitute player to fill his spot on the roster, since injured players are ineligible to be replaced. Oklahoma City will simply enter the summer restart with 16 players instead of the maximum 17.

Roby, a second-round pick in 2019, was traded from Dallas to Oklahoma City in January. He appeared in just three games for the Thunder, logging 11 total minutes, so his absence won’t impact the team’s rotation.

Roby averaged 8.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 17 G League games (20.2 MPG) for the Texas Legends and OKC Blue as a rookie. He remains under contract with the Thunder through 2023, though his salary isn’t guaranteed beyond the 2020/21 season.

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Key 2020 NBA Offseason Dates, Deadlines

July 8th, 2020 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

In a typical year, the NBA’s annual draft would have already taken place and the majority of the summer’s top free agents would have come off the board. However, 2020 is about as far from a typical year as we can imagine, which means the league’s usual offseason calendar has been upended.

We still don’t know exactly when the 2020/21 NBA season will start – or even whether the league will be able to safely finish the ’19/20 campaign – but the league has re-established new dates and deadlines for a number of offseason events.

With the help of information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks, here’s a breakdown of many of the NBA’s important dates and deadlines over the next few months:

August 3

  • Last day for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility (10:59pm CT).

August 15-16

  • Possible postseason play-in games take place.

August 17

  • NBA playoffs begin.
  • Deadline for early entrants to declare for the NBA draft (10:59pm CT).
    • Note: For more information on draft-related dates and deadlines, check out our full breakdown.

August 25

  • NBA draft lottery.

October 13

  • Latest possible end date for the 2020 NBA Finals.

November 8

  • Deadline for all early entrants (including international players) to withdraw from the NBA draft (4:00pm CT).

November 18

  • NBA draft day.

November 19

  • Last day for decisions on player, team and early termination options (4:00pm CT).
  • Last day for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency.

November 20

  • Last official day of the 2019/20 NBA league year.
  • Teams can begin negotiating contracts with free agents (5:00pm CT).

November 21

  • Official start of the 2020/21 NBA league year.
  • Moratorium period begins.
  • Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet.
  • Teams can begin signing players to rookie scale contracts, minimum salary contracts, and two-way contracts.
  • Third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for 2021/22 can be exercised.

November 22

  • Moratorium period ends (11:00am CT)
  • Teams can begin officially signing players, extending players, and completing trades.
  • The two-day period for matching an RFA offer sheet signed during the moratorium begins.

December 1

  • Training camps open

December 9

  • Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2020/21 salaries.

December 21:

  • Last day for players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign new contracts.
  • Last day for players eligible for super-max extensions to sign new contracts.
  • Last day for players eligible for veteran contract extensions to sign new contracts (unless they’re in a contract year).

As gaps in the NBA’s late-offseason calendar get filled in, we’ll update this page with the latest info.

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International Notes: D. Williams, Harrison, Singleton, L. Brown

July 8th, 2020 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA’s 2020 free agency period is still a few months away, teams in Europe are already making offseason roster moves in preparation for the 2020/21 season, and a number of former NBA players are in the news. One of those players is Pau Gasol, who is reportedly in serious talks with Barcelona about a potential one-year deal, as we relayed earlier today.

Here are a few more updates on former NBA players lining up new deals overseas:

  • Spanish team Valencia has reached an agreement to sign former No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams for the coming season, the club announced in a press release. Still just 29 years old, Williams has appeared in over 400 NBA regular season games, but has spent the last couple seasons in international leagues, playing for Fenerbahce in Turkey in 2019/20.
  • Olympiacos BC in Greece has officially announced the signing of Aaron Harrison, the former Kentucky guard who played for the Hornets and Mavericks in the NBA from 2015-18. Harrison, who spent the last two seasons with Turkish team Galatasaray, signed a two-year contract with Olympiacos.
  • Former first-round pick Chris Singleton, who last appeared in the NBA in 2014 with the Wizards, has signed a multiyear contract extension with Turkish club Anadolu Efes, the team announced in a press release. It’s a two-year deal with a third-year option for the veteran forward, who joins Rodrigue Beaubois in agreeing to an extension with Anadolu Efes this week.
  • Turkish club Fenerbahce is eyeing veteran guard Lorenzo Brown, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Brown last played in the NBA during the 2018/19 season before being waived by Toronto.
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